DBV Series 6: Afterlife Adventures
by Verto-Briefs
Summary: He's back.... You all thought I was gone didn't you? Well strap yourself in as the adventures of Verto and the Z fighters continue in the explosive new sequel. Now Complete!
1. Prologue

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just the merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.**

**Prologue: The Overseers**

In a darkened chamber, several dozen figures sat around a large table, all of them in deep thought.

"Is it agreed then?" one asked, sounding quite elderly but also wise.

"I'm still not sure about this, our interference in the mortal realm will only alert our enemies and may only speed up the time table until their next attack. They still don't know how to get here and I would prefer that things remain that way. Taking an unnecessary risk now is foolish!" another stated in an annoyed and cautious voice.

"You know what could happen if we do not monitor him. We can't just assume that this boy will join our cause when his time comes. You saw the visions just as we did," the figure sitting just across from him argued.

"A future that is not written. A lot of things have changed in that reality since the boy arrived, and I doubt that the timeline will remain constant. I still refuse to believe that we must put our faith into a mortal to turn the tide against our enemy, never mind a Saiyan! I'm telling you, no Saiyan is of any use against them, and you all know it. Put it on record that I protest our involvement with this boy. If he has a shred of the potential we saw in the vision, we would have seen it by now!" the second one objected.

"It is noted, however, there has never been a Saiyan like this one before!" the first figure pointed out.

"All due to unnecessary intervention from their overseers, a simple power boost, nothing more!"

"Mr. Chairman, I concur to the fact that most Saiyans are worthless to our cause. However, this one is very unique and unlike my counterpart here, I can see that this boy has more than just a little bit of potential. This boy wiped out the Zerg and their master the Overmind, not an easy feat to be certain! However, he will need proper guidance if we are to keep him on both our side, and out of the sight of the enemy. I vote that we send one of our own to monitor him for the time being!"

"But that will expose us! They will detect anyone we send from this realm!" the other one argued once again.

"Not if we proceed carefully, and appropriately. We will need a volunteer to take on a mortal body and mind to pull it off, but it isn't going to be an easy mission," the third figure suggested.

"I'll go!" a fourth jumped up, a clearly feminine voice could be heard.

"I must protest again Mr. Chairman, do not let her go. We all know about her family's history!"

"A history that has saved your asses by keeping our enemy at bay!" she shouted back.

"Enough, I concur to sending her to monitor the boy, have you already chosen a form?" the chairman asked.

"Yes, I have, though I may need to travel a little further back in time than the current limitations allow," she replied.

"There they go again, I'm telling you Mr. Chairman, they are not to be trusted! We do not need this constant distraction about potential agents in the mortal realm when we clearly have more important matters on our hands! Almost all of these agents have been lacking in the necessary power!"

"Will you pipe down! You're as foolish as you are blind! I don't see you giving any effort to bring this conflict to an end, so I don't want to hear it!" the woman shouted back.

"That's enough. The decision is made. Prepare to leave, and make sure to take care of all the minor details regarding your mortal form, and make sure to limit your power in that form, those Saiyans will certainly detect it. Whatever you do, do not reveal yourself to the boy. That would complicate things further! We will inform the overseers of that dimension of your presence and they will bring your reports to us!" the Chairman ordered.

"Understood - I take my leave," she said, walking out with a deep smile of satisfaction all over her face.

**A/n:** **First things first, if you haven't read a word of this story, STOP HERE. Proceed back to Saga 1 and start there, you can reach it through the profile page. You WILL be incredibly lost if you do not read everything beforehand at least once.**

**DBV Series 6: Afterlife Adventures**

**Theme: "Back into your system" by Saliva**

**All right boys and girls, it is time to start the next installment of DragonBall Verto, or as many know, DBV for short. I'm sure your wondering what exactly this little prologue was about, well its one of those many mysteries that lie embedded in this story. You'll just have to figure it out as it reveals itself to you later on.**

**I have had a lot of questions for this Saga sent through email or pm, and frankly I haven't answered that many of them due to wanting to keep most of the events here a surprise. A few lucky souls behind the scenes know about a few of the events (** Rodaiogin - Don't bother asking me. **) , but they don't have the whole perspective on it. For those of you who have a general idea about what may or may not happen, please do not ruin it for others.**

**After that last Saga, one would think I would be tired of this story. Well believe me, thinking this epic story out is the easy part, writing it, hard as hell. But we still have a lot of it to go, that first set of 5 Sagas was only the appetizer. As most know by now, Verto died at the end of Series 5 because he overexerted himself against Zerg-Broly. We start right off as he appears in the afterlife, the only question is what will he face off against here? And what sorts of training will he go through to further master his powers, here we go…**

**I think ya'll know the drill when it comes to the communication issue, but here it is anyway:**

"Blah blah blah" - Regular communication

"_Blah blah blah"_ – Telepathic or from an outside source

_Blah blah blah_ – Thoughts

**Rated PG13-T**

**This is the place where you click the Next Chapter button.**


	2. Return to Other World

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just the merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.**

**Chapter 1: Return to Other World**

I opened my eyes to see a dark blue sky above me, noting that I was not in any sort of pain at all, which was a vast improvement. I was lying on some sort of hard surface but it wasn't rock like it had been just a few minutes ago. I easily sat up to see I was on a purple colored platform with a path that led straight to some sort of large palace. I stood up and looked around, seeing that beyond the platform was a large array of green colored clouds. The skies above did provide a few stars to look at, but it was mostly dark blue. I knew I was dead by now, but I reached for any object above my head just in case I was mistaken. The small ring I touched ended any speculation of that. I sighed, this was obviously not the Other World I remembered. But considering I was in a different dimension and all, it wasn't that surprising. I checked myself over real fast, noting that my bodysuit was restored, but my armor was not. My injuries were completely gone, as if I had eaten a Senzu bean, though my stomach growled otherwise. I got up and walked slowly down the purple road towards the palace, noting that it was rather quiet here compared to the mad house that was King Yemma's palace. I reached the doorway to this palace right away, walking inside and expecting some sort of overly large judge to be waiting for me. Instead there was a wide but small round table sitting there, filled with about twenty or so elder looking Protoss figures. All of them seemed like they were out of phase, translucent you could say, meaning you could see through them. They all stared at me as I walked in, I could only guess what they wanted. The walls were decorated with Protoss paintings you could say, with sparkling gold walls. One of the older Protoss Templars stood up in the middle, facing me.

"You are the one called Verto, correct?" he said.

"Yeah, that's right. Who are you?" I asked carefully.

"We..." he paused momentarily. "We are referred to as the Kalah!"

"The religion that the Protoss follow?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow. None of these guys looked to be all powerful gods by any means, more like ancient warriors that had died a long time ago.

"Correct, and on behalf of our entire council, I must thank you!" he said.

"For what?" I asked.

"For defeating the Overmind, as well as the evil beings it possessed in order to wipe out our comrades. If not for you, I suspect that neither of our dimensions would be faring well right now. That being said, there is someone waiting for you here," he answered, gesturing to his left. Over by the walls was a slightly more familiar member of his race and by the looks of it very new to the surroundings. I recognized his aging gray head and royal blue eyes, that and I had only seen him at most a few hours ago, a fresh memory to say the least.

"Greetings my friend, and congratulations on destroying that creature once and for all," Tassadar said. The top plates of his armor were off now and I could see a genuine smile coming from a very small set of lips, one that was just as hard to see as before.

"Well, I basically blew myself up to do it...not that much of a pride booster," I said, shifting my feet a bit.

"Nonsense, you did what you had to do to protect innocent lives and guarantee the future of both of our realities. There is no greater honor than that! I sense that you will grow into an even stronger warrior than you are now, and your greatness will shine. Your light will reach far into places where only the shadows dare to dwell. Evil will learn to fear you and the good will turn to you in its moments of crisis. I expect to hear great tales of your battles during my time here," Tassadar said, putting a comforting three-fingered palm to my shoulder.

"Thanks, I guess," I said, still not sure about everything he said.

"Relax young warrior, not everything will charge into your future all at once, only when its time has come. Now the time has come to travel back to your dimension, I suspect that the next phase of your life journey is ready to begin," he said, as a red portal appeared a few feet away.

"Life journey? I'm dead, that makes no sense at all," I muttered.

"Whether you're in the physical plane or in the afterlife, you are still alive. Your life down there is a short portion of your actual life as I'm told, or at least one as great as yourself. It's all a point of view sometimes, good luck my friend!" he said, waving a bit.

"Yeah, good working with you Tassadar, I'll be sure to run into you again some day!" I said, giving him the two fingered victory sign.

"I look forward to it," he bowed. I turned and stepped into the red portal, seeing it close behind me just as it re-opened in front of me.

---

"**About time you got here! ** I've got all kinds of paper work to do and a major league crisis on hand! I don't need any tardiness!" a loud and deep voice bellowed as soon as I stepped into the room. This room I was more familiar with, yellow walls with red trim, not to mention a sixty-foot grouchy ogre sitting at a large desk. I glanced up to see King Yemma's face full of slight anger, but the way his energy felt I'd guess it was more panic than anything else.

"Okay, what's the problem?" I asked, declining to crack a joke for the moment.

"Well, first of all your judgment, but this is very unique. I've dealt with split personalities before, but your case is a new one on me. Since I don't know where your dark side disappeared, I would have to assume it never left you, however I know it isn't there," he started. I lifted one eyebrow, letting my body language inquire for more. "As you may or may not know, your latent evil half formed a separate spirit from yourself. I've never seen this happen before!" he said.

"I understand that part, I'm the one who got rid of him both times. But what about the other clones, are they considered separate as well?" I asked.

"No, they were merely copies and did not possess a soul to keep track of. I'm not really sure how the Overmind accomplishes such things, but I don't care now. The fact is, that your evil half is out there somewhere. He didn't come here and he didn't arrive in the Protoss dimension as far as we know. I have no idea where he is, but wherever it may be, it is without a body to inhabit," Yemma explained.

"And the down-side to this is?" I asked.

"Good point, but I don't like my files to be incomplete!" he shouted a bit.

I allowed my eyes to roll a bit, "Can we get on with this?" I asked.

"Yes of course. With your life in the physical plane as it is now, I would probably send you up to Grand Kai's planet anyway, but the Kais already granted you that before I looked over your file again. But I'm not sending you up there just yet! There is something I need you to take care of first!" he barked.

My eyes narrowed, "And that would be?" I asked.

"To take care of a problem for me. First of all I need to cleanse the evilest soul down in hell and get it ready for reincarnation as a good spirit. The only problem with that is getting that soul to co-operate. Here's where the problem comes into play, this soul in question is in fact the evil child form of Majin Buu!" he began. I blinked in surprise, _so that's what this is about._

"Let me guess, you need me to go down there and drag him in here? Or do I have to kill him?" I asked.

"A little of both, I want you to take this jar with you to find Buu. Then you have to destroy his body. Once it is gone completely, a white cloud will appear in its place, and all you have to do is open the lid to the jar to trap his spirit. I asked for help from the Kais because he went into a temper tantrum that hasn't exactly mellowed out yet. He hasn't killed any of my ogres only because he won't be able to, but all of the other evil spirits down there might decide to take advantage of the situation and try to break out. The Supreme Kai is down there as we speak!" Yemma explained.

"I thought if someone is destroyed in the afterlife it was permanent, they wouldn't exist at all?" I asked, a bit confused.

"No, that is not quite accurate. If one would keep their body for either going up to Grand Kai's world or Hell, they would only lose their body for good, so in essence it's the same thing," Yemma explained.

"So I gotta go kill Buu and trap him in this jar and bring it back, correct?" I asked as a small vase like jar floated down to hover in front of me.

"That's right, do you need any rest or food before you go? Surely you'll need to be at your best!" Yemma asked.

I clasped my hands and cracked my knuckles outward with a slight grin, "No, I'm ready for that little freak any time!"

"All right then, you know where the entrance is, good luck!" he said, pointing towards the door. I grabbed the jar and strode that way quickly, a excited feeling filled me, one that I hadn't felt in a long time. That and I had a lot of things I wanted to discuss with Kid Buu, but most it wasn't going to be with words. I took a deep breath as I came up to the railing, and then jumped into the mass of yellow clouds.

---

**I quickly passed through the clouded threshold** and laid eyes on the rough and spiky lands of hell. Random blood pools doted it, but it was mostly a purple and brown wasteland just like before. My stomach growled as I neared the ground, and I quickly regretted turning down that offer of food a moment ago, the thrill of fighting Buu got to me rather quickly. I spotted a shade of green grass nearby, and a tree in the center of it. On this tree were many glowing fruits that seemed to call to me. I floated over, ready to nab one out of the tree before I heard a cry for help. It was very close and I detected 3 low power levels coming my way quickly. One of them was vastly superior to the other two, but nothing for me to worry about. Along a beaten path I spotted two large ogres running my way, and a pale red headed muscle head chasing after them.

"Keep going Guaz, he's right behind us!" the red ogre shouted. The blue one only seemed to nod as they were both running for all they were worth. The red headed pale figure came into view with an older style of Saiyan armor on with a logo on the front. I recognized him right away, Recoome, part of the Ginyu force. I stood next to the tree and watched the ogres change direction and head towards me, Recoome not far behind.

"Run kid, he'll break you in half!" Mez shouted at me. I only crossed my arms as the two ogres stopped in surprise while I glared a bit at Recoome, who stopped to laugh like an idiot.

"Why aren't you running kid? We're the baddest ogres in the land and we're no match for him! Wait a sec, you look familiar!" Guaz pointed out.

"Tell you what, I'll get rid of him for you if I get a piece of that fruit there. I'm kind of hungry," I said, not taking my eye off Recoome.

"No way, that's King Yemma's fruit! Only he can eat that, you can't have any!" Mez shouted, his glasses fogging up just a bit. I ignored this for a moment, seeing what Recoome would do next, if anything. He seemed to be waiting for me to try to attack him, not a wise thing to do. Then again even if he charged me it probably wouldn't matter.

"Weren't you here about nine months ago before Majin Buu was defeated?" Guaz asked. I was slightly surprised, he not only guessed the right time era, but he was supposed to be the dumber one.

"No way, he's not that same kid, this one is different! He doesn't have armor, no tail, different hair style and his eyes are blue!" Mez argued.

"Well, your memory works pretty well, I'd say. I'll be right back," I said. Recoome was trying to figure out what pose he was going to use and took his eyes off of me. I phased out, moving to the right and zipping around to give Recoome a nasty knee blow to the back of his head before he could even flinch. His body bounced off of the land twice before skidding to a stop and staying there.

I floated back down, "So can we talk about that fruit now?" I asked. Instantly there was a piece of it in the red ogre's hand, while he backed down and knelt to the ground.

"Our savior!" they said in unison. _Wow, I should come down more often, the service is quick._ I inhaled the fruit, remembering there was something special about it, but I couldn't recall what exactly.

"What doesth this fruith do?" I said as I munched it down quickly.

"Doubles a man's strength and keeps him full for three months!" they both said together again.

"Doubles?" I asked in surprise. Instantly all of my muscles bulged and spasmed a bit before calming down. I felt noticeably lighter than before, like I had just stepped out of the gravity chamber. I scanned my own energy right away as well as all those around me, but it felt no different. "I trust you mean physical strength?" I asked as they both nodded. _Well that should help out just a bit, this body should be able to handle my power a little better now._

"Is that a spirit jar?" Guaz asked, pointing to the vase in my other hand.

"Yeah. Where's Buu at?" I asked as I reached out with my energy senses. I picked up on a cluster of power levels not far away, two of them bigger than anyone else, but one clearly more powerful and purely evil.

"Never mind, I can find him," I said, floating upwards and flying away.

---

**I locked onto the big power levels and raced towards them**, but avoided powering up for the moment. Soon I spotted a series of shockwaves and energy explosions going off, and someone was taking a beating. I slowly made out a small floating figure with pink skin, his ugly and evil face stood out a moment later. On the ground was a battered and beaten Kai by the name of Kibitoshin, who had certainly seen better days. His energy signal rang in as a mixed signal now, but come to think of it I hadn't been seen him for a long time and my sensing abilities had changed. Buu's power was also a bit different, but it felt like mine had been not long ago, split and buried. He could use ki, but any sort of Psi usage was out of the question. If he wasn't a brainless maniac, he could likely use powers just like I could, which was scary to comprehend. _Maybe it's a good thing he was never able to attain his full power back then, he could legitimately do the same stuff that I can do now. Now I see why the Overmind was scared of him. _Around the grounds were a several other warriors I was familiar with during my last visit, but only 3 of them remained once I arrived. Judging by the low levels I detected when they scattered, I guessed that it was the remainder of the Ginyu force, who must have recognized me quickly. I landed between these 3 villains and where Kibitoshin lay, seeing Buu notice my arrival but not really pay any attention. He seemed more intent on providing more pain for the Kai at the moment.

"Hey, Supreme Kai! You all right over there?" I shouted over. He groaned as he got up, holding his stomach and looking at me in surprise. His face was covered in bruises and his clothes were torn in random places, but he didn't seem as hurt as I thought he might be.

"You're here? Why didn't King Yemma send you to the Grand Kai's planet? That is your place right now, I can handle Buu!" he stated as he stood up with a determined glare pointed at the pink monster.

"Don't lie, I can sense that you're way out of your league just like before, let me handle it," I suggested.

"No, I have to do this!" he said as he charged into the air. A flurry of punches kicks came from Kibito in perfect execution, if they made contact that is. Buu crossed his arms and grinned as he dodged easily while Kibito chased him across the sky. I glanced over at the three villains mentioned earlier, two of them being tall and one short.

"Well...look what the cat dragged in! It's that boy again!" King Kold declared with a smile. I cast an eyebrow up and gave them a curious look, wondering why they were still here to be honest. I rescanned their power levels, and they had risen a bit since I was last here, probably due to training. Frieza's level was most notably improved, but Cell far outclassed him by a great deal still. Cell's level hadn't gone up near as much as my level though, so if there were going to be a fight I would win it easily without transforming.

"I guess he wants to suffer just as much as the Kai is right now. I'll be glad to make that happen!" Frieza said with a tight grin. Cell bore a strict look at me though, no smile whatsoever.

He held one hand in front of Frieza as a warning, "I don't suggest you do that, the boy is far stronger than he was last time," Cell said in a low voice. He obviously sensed some of my power, the only question was how much.

"How can he be any stronger than us now? We have trained our asses off since then!" Frieza reasoned, though Cell wasn't listening. He seemed almost concerned as he glanced at me, though I didn't advance on it, my enemy was currently making sport of Kibitoshin.

"His power is greater than mine and he's not even a Super Saiyan. If you would only learn how to sense power levels you would understand. Leave him alone Frieza, for your own good," Cell warned again. I glanced back at the skies, seeing Buu strike back on Kibito and beat on his chest and stomach hard enough to spill his insides. I closed my eyes and used my Psi senses to follow their movements a little better, but from a distance. While I did this I saw King Kold decide not to take Cell's advice and advance towards me slowly in the air. I chuckled silently at this while I saw him gather a strong ki blast to send my way. I kept my eyes closed and summoned my Psi sword just as he fired it. I swung and reflected it right back to him without turning directions, getting a decent impact and watching him fly backwards for a good ways. Frieza went through a string of gasping while Cell's eyes lit up with amazement.

"What the? How strong is he Cell, has he reached that Super Saiyan 2 level you spoke of?" Frieza asked in a panic filled voice. _Yeah, you'll wish I was that weak._

"He doesn't even feel like a Saiyan anymore, his energy is similar to the Kai up there! I couldn't even sense the energy he used to create that sword! Incredible," he whispered. Frieza was going to ask about this more until a loud shout of pain filled the skies. I glanced up at the aerial battle going on, and saw Buu smash Kibitoshin in the ears with an open hand slap to both sides at once. Then he spin kicked the Kai into the ground not far away from my position. I spotted some sort of glistening object fall from Buu's figure, two of them actually. They fell at the feet of Frieza and Cell, who picked them up out of curiosity. I willed my vision to zoom in on this, spotting two Kai earrings held by the two villains. My eyes popped open right away as I stared their way, as they were whispering to each other.

"What do you think Cell, these could make us quite a bit more powerful," Frieza suggested.

"I'm more curious as to what will happen to our personalities, I don't want to become an arrogant fool like Vegeta. I have enough of that problem from my Saiyan cells," Cell pointed out.

"Yes, but we could be powerful enough to take over this realm, don't tell me you'd rather be pushed around by this kid or Pikkon all the time for eternity," Frieza said.

"An interesting point, but if I don't like it, the earrings are coming off!" Cell snapped as Frieza smirked deeply. _How ironic. Cell is falling for a trap from someone who is already a part of his being. Those things are permanent, assuming of course they don't exceed its power limits, and I seriously doubt they will. _ The earrings glowed brightly as their forms smashed together suddenly, reforming into a bright ball of light. _ This could get interesting_, I thought as I observed this.


	3. The end of Kid Buu

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 2: The End of Kid Buu**

**The bright light faded out and a new figure emerged**. He looked exactly like Cell, except his skin was a pink and purple color now and he was a little bit shorter as well. His power level had jumped quite a bit, a little above my maximum in Mystic form, but not by much. He bore a direct smile now, but didn't act on it right away. He instead kept his grin directed towards me as he reached up towards his square shaped ears, pulling the earrings out. _Well now it is permanent for sure. He doesn't look disappointed about his little power boost, but it won't matter since he took them out. _

"Here, I'm sure your friend would like these back!" he stated, the double voice of fusion clearly coming through. He then tossed the earrings right to me and then stared up at Buu with a strict grin. I caught them and jogged over to Kibitoshin, who was trying to get up and having a lot of trouble.

"I told you to let me handle it," I said, helping him up.

"Who is that, he kinda looks like Frieza and Cell put together!" he asked.

"Guess he hit you hard enough for your senses to stop working right. That _is_ Frieza and Cell fused - with your earrings!" I said sternly.

"He's no match for Buu though," Kibito noted.

"Yeah, I know. I don't know why he would want to challenge him," I said, offering Kibito the earrings. He dropped them as a rush of pain hit his insides.

I picked them back up and slipped them into my pocket for the time being, "Stay still," I ordered. I summoned mixed energy and covered him with it, causing him to glow greenish gold for a moment while some of his injuries healed. I didn't restore him completely because I felt I may need the energy, but I did enough for him to get up without trouble.

"Thanks, that feels like a role reversal," he said as I helped him up.

"No problem," I said, turning back to the stare off between the new fused villain and Buu. Buu laughed for a moment before charging in at the much taller figure. A quick ki blast from the fused villain cut him in half and the top half flew to the side in surprise while the other half landed at the fused villain's feet. Buu scowled as he didn't expect this, but didn't act upon it and simply watched what would happen next. The new fighter's tail suddenly emerged from underneath his purple wings, and the tip pierced the pink mass that was Buu's lower half.

"What is he doing?" Kibito asked. I didn't answer but I had a pretty good clue. The tail then started pumping and sucking from its target, absorbing the matter into itself. I stared at this confused a bit as to what the fused warrior was trying to pull off. Then I sensed Buu having trouble regenerating, and some of his power dropped. As his level dropped, the other power rose by a good deal. _I get it, he's trying to absorb Buu and gain more power than me. Feels like he's gained more than enough to take on Buu just by absorbing his cut-off legs. I better put a stop to this._ I quickly blasted at the remaining matter below his feet, which had been reduced to barely a puddle by now. It caught fire and burned into smoke, which zipped back over to Buu as he slowly regenerated.

The fusion of Cell and Frieza chuckled just a bit, "I had heard you were trained by Vegeta, but now I can see that your brain is much more advanced! He would have let me continue just for the challenge. Even if that meant suffering his own demise as a result!" He sounded more like Cell than Frieza, which actually kept my inner emotions on the matter toned down a bit. I set the spirit jar down behind me and dropped into a minor stance, letting some of my power flow outwards in preparation.

"So what should I call you for the next few minutes before you're face down in the dirt?" I asked. He kept a bright smile while staring at me, but didn't budge. The way his energy started to flicker around, I guessed he was going to attack, but it never came.

"You may refer to me however you wish, but strictly Frieza or Cell will not do now will it? You may call me Friezell!" he announced.

I scoffed at the name, "How original." I cleared my thoughts when I noticed Buu finally getting his bearings back together, and shifted my attention slightly, I didn't want Buu to get away. I quickly gathered a potent Psi ball in my hands while he was still dazed, with nothing but a positive means of justice behind it. Friezell looks intrigued by this, but didn't move once again. I took one last look at his body motion, or lack thereof, and turned the Psi ball to the right just before letting it go. The recovered Buu let it hit him, and then screamed bloody murder afterwards. His own power turned against him, Buu collapsed to the ground in between screaming fits. If it was the Super form of Buu, I might have been a little concerned that he would figure out how to get out of my Feedback technique rather quickly. Since it wasn't, I took my time while the pink monster fought against his own energy. With the monster down and Friezell making no movement for attack, I gathered both of my energies and pushed them together while powering up. The lands lit up with silver light just as both of the villains gave off wide eyes of amazement. The grounds cracked a bit at my feet as I entered Super Mystic form, but nothing too devastating aside from a general dust storm. I growled once I adjusted to my power up and then caught sight of Buu. His hideous face gave me so many painful memories, and now it was time for those to be vanquished. I dropped back as the skies darkened, and I gathered what would definitely be the last stop on Buu's tour bus of hell.

"Super Galic Gun!" I heard a yelp of fear as my green beam shimmered and roared out of my hands. Buu was only about thirty feet away, so the blast hit him rather quickly. I kept the beam going until I lost Buu's lowering energy signal. I let up a few seconds later just to be sure. The regular lighting of Hell returned once the beam had exploded off several mountains, leaving pebbles behind. Over in the area where Buu used to be, a white cloud floated, no bigger than a medium sized dog. There was barely an energy signal now, but I sensed that it was also a fused energy signal and not split like it had been, which prompted questions I planned to save for the right person. The halo that was above Buu's head was also gone. I picked up the jar and walked forward as I opened the lid. A vacuum like wind came from it, and the cloud zipped towards the jar, entering and disappearing into it without a trace. I put the cork like lid back on and then glanced back up towards Friezell. He hadn't moved the entire time, but that grin was gone the instant I transformed. He didn't appear to be in a panic, but he didn't look happy either.

"So you wanna go or not?" I asked. He didn't answer right away, but then turned around and started to walk away. "Way to make it dramatic," I muttered.

He stopped for a moment, "Perhaps another day, boy!" Then he flew off into the distance and vanished into the surroundings of Hell.

---

"**Thank you Supreme Kai, and you too, young Verto**. I couldn't have possibly been able to contain Buu on my own!" Yemma said as I handed over the Jar containing Buu's spirit.

"Yeah, we noticed," I muttered a little too loudly. Yemma scowled for a moment, but didn't go beyond that.

"So what's next," I said as I hovered down next to Kibitoshin.

"There is much for you to learn before you go back to Earth, we'll take it from the top and go see my Elder first, hold on!" he said, taking my shoulder. Instantly King Yemma's office vanished and the Kai planet came into view. The grass and trees had grown back a little better than the last time I was here, mostly thanks to a villain I had just blown away. I spotted Old Kai quickly, he was hovered over a small fire with a tea kettle. Judging by the smell though it wasn't tea, smelled more like skunk. He poured red fluid into a cup as we walked up, offering me one.

"No thanks," I quickly said as I wrinkled my nose a bit. As he set the teakettle down, I rescanned his energy. It was mixed energy as well, with no real sign of it being split between ki and Psi. Kibitoshin was the same way, and I had a feeling I was going to get some answer to this rather soon, because if I didn't I wasn't going to be happy.

"Well, I must say, things went rather well considering everything that has happened recently," Old Kai began, stirring my anger a bit.

"And how do you figure that?" I asked with a lot of restraint.

"Calm down son, I meant overall. As you know, it could certainly be worse right now, down to business though. As you know, your energy makes you very unique, but you have no idea how unique you are. Most intelligent beings understand ki, even if they cannot access it directly. Few races know Psi though, and they typically need to have a large amount of potential Psi to even notice it, of which half the battle is mental. I understand you went through training to adjust to your Psionic energy, and I trust you have learned how to use it effectively?" he asked.

"Yeah, for the most part. It doesn't make me tired to use it anymore, so it's pretty much mastered," I said.

"The number one thing you must know about Psi is how it responds to your mental and emotional states. Regular ki is generally geared to negative emotions, anger and rage can make it temporarily stronger as you know. Psi can be enhanced with both negative and positive emotions, and as you have learned it can be very useful and powerful. Positive Psi can be used in many ways to help and heal spirits and repel evil ones. It can be used to cure rare conditions as well, I suspect this is how you removed the Zerg genes from your body correct?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, I learned a lot of things from Zeratul, the Dark Templar leader," I said.

"Yes, we were monitoring that. I must say I was surprised that you were able to use those kinds of techniques so soon. I must warn you though, negative Psi is just as destructive as any villain you will ever face. Be aware that having your dark side split from you my have lasting effects on your personality, a sudden mood swing could turn into a disaster if you are not careful. Psi energy used in anger can easily destroy the body and spirit it is used on if one is not careful. By causing an imbalance of energy within the target, their life force can literally evaporate as their spirits are worn down into nothing!" he explained.

"Causing an imbalance can do that?" I asked right away.

"Yes, we'll get to that balancing issue in a moment. But that is why you must be very careful when using pure Psionic waves, as they are intertwined with psychic capacity. In Lamins that means that what you are thinking can affect what your Psi energy can do at a given time. No doubt you have noticed this effect a few times as you were able to remove the Zerg genes by yourself. Not only that, but your episode with that split personality when you were first fused with the Cerebrate may have been caused by this. Psionic energy is not only of the spirit, but also the mind. Keep your mind clear and your emotions in check at all times. Your family and friendly attachments must be toned down. I understand the love you have for life itself, especially for those close to you, but losing them could make you into something worse than anything you have ever faced!" he said with a stern face.

"I can't change who I am, nor the love that I have for my family and friends. I believe in them and they believe in me, we haven"t let each other down yet and I intend to keep my end of the bargain," I said in direct defiance of his suggestion.

"That is your decision, let us pray you never have to visit the consequences," he said, turning around for a moment. In truth I never realized that pure Psi could do that, but I was aware that it was partially dependant upon emotions for full effects.

---

**Old Kai sipped some more of his tea like drink before continuing**, it looked like he had a lot to tell me and we were only at the start of things.

"I must say Verto, I didn't expect you to come so far so fast. Truthfully, I was hoping you wouldn't. Coming across the power you have attained so quickly can be dangerous, but I believe it will be all right from now on. You have reached a peak right now and your power has topped out. I seriously doubt you will be getting a whole lot stronger for a good while," he began again, taking a drink.

"What do you mean? There's tons of training I have to do to get used to this! Are you saying that even if I had mastered everything at this very moment I would not be any stronger?" I asked.

"That's exactly right, you wouldn't be any more powerful than you are right now. Your hidden powers have been completely released. I purposefully held back a bit when I released them before, fearing what may happen if I went all the way with it, in all honesty I thought I had gone too far as things were. But everything worked out well in the end. In time you will grow more powerful, but not at nearly the rate you have been so far, it will be more proportional to your own physical growth. You've topped out for now as far as pure energy goes. However you will eventually have better knowledge of your power and your body would be better equipped to handle it. Don't think of it as your limit, there are always things to learn, " he said.

"Your talking about my complete Super Mystic power, my mixed energy, right?" I asked. He stopped in mid motion momentarily before setting his teacup down.

"Let's get off of this mixed energy business right now and I will explain what you are truly referring to. The energy of your life force is Ki and the energy of your mind and spirit is Psi. But the combination and total energy of your life and spirit comprises your soul, and that is a sacred energy called **_CHI_**," he said, spawning a strong series of questions in my mind suddenly.

"I thought a spirit and a soul were the same thing?" I asked first.

"That is often confused with life forms that don't understand their own energy. A spirit and its body make up a soul, one not complete without the other in the physical plane where most life forms are. Once dead however, the spirit and the body typically fuse together and become a simple cloud of Chi energy in the afterlife, representing the soul. These clouds can reform into their previous forms to an extent, but never like they once were. Obviously strong life forms like you and your friends or those going to Hell will keep their bodies and this will never occur. All life forms have Chi, but for most mortals it is split apart into Ki and Psi separately when they are conceived, long before birth. Up here it is known as the Mortal defect," he explained further.

"Why is it split apart like that?" I asked.

"You're a smart one, Verto. I'm sure you could figure that out for yourself. You are the first mortal being in a very long time that is able to do this. To access this much Chi energy and to be mortal while doing so is border lining the impossible, and you did it on your own," he said.

"Well, you're the one who turned me Mystic," I said.

"I released some of your hidden ki power yes, but you're the one who discovered the rest of it when you and Gohan first transformed, I had no true part in that. Imagine my surprise when Kibito told me that you already knew about your hidden Psionic power before he even told you. True, that Kanassan from the past spilled the beans to you about it, but it helped you advance even more quickly. As for why it is split apart in mortal beings, I believe it is the restrictions of the physical plane. Another reason is because it would be dangerous for anyone there who had but a trace of evil within them. Imagine billions of beings like yourself, warring with each other constantly, all of them being able to destroy star systems and the life within them without much effort, sound like fun?" he asked.

"Not really," I said, shaking my head.

"The creators of the universe didn't think so either. There have been a few spotty cases where extraordinary beings have emerged with your kind of power, but it is extremely rare and they often vanished soon after discovery," he added.

I backed up a bit, "I'm not gonna have to stay up here am I?"

Old Kai chuckled, "Relax, there weren't any dragonballs back then either, and I doubt we could stop Goku and Vegeta from getting you back if we tried! Beings that can control Chi are rare because of the requirements of it. First of all it works best when it is formed with an even balance of energy between Ki and Psi, a lesson I'm sure you have learned a while back. Secondly, there are few races that have the necessary balance to be any sort of potential threat with using pure Chi. They have to be able to access Psi first of all, and typically beings cannot do this when their soul doesn't have enough of it to even notice, a lot of this is mental capacity. Let's take Changelings for example, Frieza's race. Their souls are typically 99 percent ki and 1 percent Psi, not much of a threat there is it?" he asked.

I snorted slightly, "Depends on the situation."

"Right you are, another example, humans. They are seventy percent ki and thirty percent Psi. Nameks are close to humans, sixty-five percent ki and thirty-five percent Psi. The Protoss, twenty percent ki and eighty percent Psi, so they are on the flip side you could say. This is why Aldaris couldn't match up to you or Shugesh when using Ki and Chi, his balance was too far off for it to be effective in that department. Saiyans are ninety percent ki and ten percent Psi. Kanassans are - " he explained before I cut him off.

"Okay, I get it, you don't have to tell me everyone's stats. I assume that I am pretty much 50-50 between ki and Psi right?" I asked.

"That you are, Gohan however is about sixty to forty in favor of ki. While he is stronger than you now, he won't be able to do the kinds of things you can with Psi and Chi, and probably won't be able to get much stronger than he is, no matter how hard he tries and trains. If he was a full-blooded Saiyan with the same kind of mind and ability, he could possibly be on par with you, it's his human blood that held him back. You will surpass him eventually, but don't expect that to be anytime soon," Old Kai mused as he picked up his teacup again.

"Is that all?" I asked, wondering if the lecture was over.

"Pretty much, there are little tidbits of information, but it isn't overly necessary right now," he said as he gulped down his red tea. I waited patiently for this information to be passed along, but silence filled the grassy fields instead.

"So are you two going to train me or what?" I asked after a few minutes.

"If we could, however we are not as attuned to Chi as one might think, and we are unfamiliar with Psi," Old Kai said.

"What? I can sense it from both of you rather strongly as a complete signal. I can't detect ki or Psi as a separate signal from either of you. I could always sense the odd ki feeling before all this Psi and Chi business got going, but now I can't, explain!" I demanded.

"Calm down young one, we can't train you on Chi because there is very little we can teach you that you can't figure out on your own. Kais are born this way, Ki and Psi are not separable with us, and our energy stays fused as Chi because we are not mortals. The odd ki signal you refer to was our Chi signal, which would be why it would feel to any other who cannot sense both separately. It is just the way of things up here. We are still in the learning process as much as you are right now believe it or not. Rest assured we would pass along any information and training that we deem necessary. Besides, most of your training is mental and you will probably figure most things out for yourself, as it should be. The only big amount of physical training you must do is being able to attune and adjust to your power in Super Mystic mode. You must be able to channel Chi at any moment no matter how injured or tired you may be. And you must train hard before you ever consider using the Kaioken technique again!" he said with a sudden serious tone that almost scared me.

"Yeah, I kind of went overboard, eh?" I asked carefully.

"Damn right you did! What my young Kai over here never told you was that the Kaioken technique not only enhances your ki, but your Psi as well, guess what that means?" he asked.

"That goes for Chi too then doesn't it, no wonder I died with that much power going through me," I said as I played back some of the recent events in my mind.

"Correct, and before you go back to Earth, you must be able to handle it at that level. Your training comes first however, and until you are able to channel the Kaioken technique at full power in either normal or Super Mystic form, you will remain in the other world. Your soul took quite a hit from what I can gather because of all of the suffering and pain you have been in since leaving Earth. Those negative emotions have an effect on Chi energy just like it does Psi. That beating the Overmind gave you didn't help matters, and when you used the Kaioken technique, you exhausted part of your soul's energy. Do it again anytime soon and your soul will more than likely explode and or collapse, I'm pretty sure you don't want that to happen. You will need at least six months before you are fully recovered from this," he explained.

"Wait a sec, I feel fine, and I trashed Buu easily down there!" I pointed out.

"Oh you'll be able to access your full power no problem, its when you go beyond what you are capable of. The Kaioken power up doesn't release hidden power like one might think, it merely enhances what you've already got. Use it too much and you'll get the picture. I often wonder how Goku could stand it, but even as a Super Saiyan 3 I doubt really matters, after all he can only use life energy. Six months of hard training in the Other World will do you good, and I sense you have started part of that training already," he added.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You ate King Yemma's fruit and your physical strength and tolerance doubled. Take advantage of this little twist, you will be able to get through this faster. Now then, I think there are some friends of yours that you would like to rejoin on Grand Kai's world, best not keep them waiting!" he said with a smug look.

"Friends? Oh of course, Videl, Fasha and the others! Let's go Kibito," I said.

"Verto, wait!" Old Kai shouted.

"What now?" I asked impatiently.

"There are a couple other things you must be aware of. Now that your powers have become what they are, it is possible that you can have an adverse affect your surroundings without knowing it. There are partial magics that come with Psi and Chi energy and they can spread around in the blink of an eye, affecting other life forms in various ways. Since everyone up here is dead I don't expect a problem for now. But when you go back to Earth you must be careful when using your energy and try not to use too much Psi or Chi around humans or other major life forms if you don't have to. You could have a negative effect on them without knowing it, depending on both your and the potential victim's mental condition. This could mutate them or give them special powers they were never meant to have, so be very careful. This is the same with Gohan's power as he has enough power to utilize and it may shift things around. Obviously if your fighting a very powerful foe you will need to use your power, but beware of the consequences of your actions!" he warned. I nodded slightly in understanding, I was going to have to be careful with any and all sparring matches.

"Another thing, just because you control this incredible power now doesn't mean you are invincible. As you found out even against that infested Broly, there can be higher powers than your own. It will be how you fight your battles that determines who wins, I sense that your future foes will all be formidable!" he warned again.

I nodded again, "You tell them to bring it on!"

"That's the spirit, now go train, you'll need to," he said, turning around.

"Ready to see your friends again?" Kibito asked.

"You don't need to ask, let's go," I said as the world darkened around me once more.

_**Power levels:**_

**Kid Buu: 560,000,000; weakened: 450,000,000**

**Kibitoshin: 420,000,000**

**Verto: 300,000,000; Super Mystic: 600,000,000**

**Cell: 190,000,000**

**Frieza: 50,000,000**

**King Kold: 28,000,000**

**Recoome: 50,000**

**Ogres: too low to matter.**

**Friezell: 340,000,000; after absorbing Buu's matter? –But you can probably take a guess or two at it.**


	4. Tests

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 3: Tests**

We reappeared on a grassy green surface with pink sky. Instantly I sensed a ton of power levels around the small planet we were on. Most of them were decently strong, a few others were up there a good way, but nothing I couldn't handle if need be. I also felt a tad bit heavier, but I assumed it was added gravity, as Piccolo, Krillin, and Goku had all mentioned it before.

"So, did everyone come up here?" I asked as Kibito started walking forward.

"No, except for Fasha we put all of the past Saiyans into Stasis along with their counterparts. We didn't want to run the risk that they would run into each other. Believe it or not, that might be bad. Dimensional tearing has been known to occur when people encounter themselves by the use of time travel," he explained.

"What about Broly?" I asked.

"Well, Broly's been here ever since he blew himself up on Earth. The clone did not possess a new soul. He had the memories and instincts of Broly, but nothing else really. He's down in Hell if you must know. There is a Saiyan Kingdom there, apparently - and he is currently living there," Kibito said before pointing at a small round house ahead.

"I'll leave you to your own business Verto, your new teacher will probably come for you soon enough," he said, vanishing an instant later.

"Why do I get the feeling that he just left a nasty surprise hanging in the air," I muttered aloud as I walked slowly to the house. A small monkey and what looked to be a large cricket were running around the circular house at a pretty good pace, the monkey appeared to be chasing the bug. Inside I sensed a low Chi signal, so I guessed that it might be King Kai himself. I wondered up to the door and poked my head in.

"Hello?" I asked. A startled gasp came from a rocking chair and a blue fish like man stirred from sleep suddenly. "Sorry, did I disturb you?" I asked. When he sat up, I recognized the symbol on his outfit, it was King Kai all right, and the voice was a good hint as well.

"Verto, is that you?" he asked.

"The one and only! Guess we haven't met yet, you still owe me free lessons," I said with a smile.

"Heh, sorry, I guess I wasn't expecting you just yet. Had I known you were going to be here so soon I would have had another bed made out for you," he said, gesturing to the side of the room. Two twin beds were unmade and sitting side-by-side, and I had a pretty good guess as to who had been sleeping there just by the scents of the room.

"So, are you going to be training me?" I asked right off, glancing around at the rest of the small house.

"Well, I wasn't completely planning on it, but I suppose I could if you make me laugh," he said with a sparkle in his glasses.

"You're going to lay that on me? You should know it isn't going to take me long to do it," I said, beaming at him a bit.

"Hit me with your best shot then, tough guy!" he challenged.

"Okay, maybe we should break this down. Does it have to be a clean joke or can it be a dirty one?" I asked with a tight grin.

"Clean is preferred," he said, nodding a bit. _Maybe a blonde joke would be good here._

"Did you hear about the blond that bought an AM radio?" I asked, hoping he knew what that was. He shook his head no quickly.

"It took her a month to find out she can use it at night, too," I said with a small grin. King Kai was on the floor in barely a second, rolling around with laughter. _I didn't think it was that funny, but it got the job done, besides its not like he made me try too hard for that one._

_--- _

"**I suppose we will do the standard tests then, Bubbles!**" he called out. _Oh Gimme a break, no way is this going to mean anything,_ I thought as I tapped my foot a bit.

"I meant real training King Kai! Unless I have a few tons of weight on me, this won't take long," I said.

"Still need to time you, otherwise how will I keep my reputation up?" he asked as he pulled out a stopwatch.

"Fine," I said lazily as the monkey lined up next to me.

"Go!" he called out. The monkey ran top speed for all he was worth, but made the mistake of looking back for me when I was already in front of him. He fell backward as he hit me while running. His eyes were turning dazed circles, as my legs were probably harder than most known substances.

"Oh boy, that will leave a mark," King kai said as he shook his head. I sensed his Chi energy stir for a moment and a large hammer dropped into his hands from the air. _Kind of nice to be able to sense all this stuff now. _

"Gregory!" he called. The cricket was sitting on top of the house and sweating a serious amount of fluid already. King Kai tossed the hammer to me and I swung it around a few times to adjust to its weight. It was heavy in all honesty, but nothing drastic, maybe about eight hundred pounds. While that was certainly heavy, I barely noticed it. Gregory looked none-too-happy as King kai motioned him over, a decent amount of jitters were affecting him.

"How heavy is this hammer anyway?" I asked as I tossed it up and down a bit.

"In this gravity...it's equal to about three tons," he said as I flipped it around in my hands a few times. _This is three tons? Sure doesn't feel like it._ Gregory had moved over to the side of the house, where he was filling out a lengthy form on paper, probably his will.

"Come on, let's get this over with," I said as he slowly whimpered and floated over. He seemed to be crying a bit but now concentrating his tiny amount of ki to power up.

"Where would you like to land?" I asked. He winced in surprise, but didn't hold up to it as he gathered energy.

"Ready or not, here I come!" he shouted. He came at me decently fast and I swung the hammer downward just when he would be crossing its path. He must have changed directions just a bit, because the hammer went right on down past him.

"Missed me - YOWWW!" he shouted. When I missed, I flipped the hammer up around the top of my shoulder and down the other side very fast, catching him before he cleared. He lay imbedded in the ground with a general look of shock, an overly red head and face now.

"Well, it's a good thing he's dead already, durability becomes a factor with you kid," King Kai chuckled a bit. Bubbles took Gregory into the house for a time of recovery, as I stood ready for the next so called test.

---

"**So where are Fasha and Videl anyway?**" I asked impatiently.

"They wanted to spar today and its been getting a little destructive lately so they went to the tournament arena. I don't want my house to get destroyed like it always does when Goku is around," he said as he glanced at the structure in question.

"Wait a sec, they're getting along?" I asked in surprise.

"It didn't take long to be honest, and I haven't had to break up any fights yet. Sleeping next to each other now, I'd say any rivalry that was there has vanished," he pointed out.

"Well I'd like to see them as soon as possible, can you point me in the right direction?" I asked.

"Sure, we can discuss training later. Fly west until you reach the road and then follow it to the north until you reach the crossroad and the Grand Kai's palace. Proceed inside and turn left at the 2nd intersection, all the way to the end of the hall, you can't miss it!" he said as he pointed to was he deemed as west.

"Thanks, be back later," I said with a slight salute as I floated into the air. As I blasted off, I took note that most of the trees nearby were blown to the ground by my sudden charge of ki. So I was a little motivated to get there, it was understandable. I found the road quickly and followed it to what could be considered the north direction. Along the way I spotted thousands of fighters doing random exercises. Whether it was meditation, workouts or sparring, they were doing it. The closer I got to my destination, the more of them I saw until the grounds were literally flooded with them, some not more than 3 feet from another over several acres of land. I spotted the large white palace up ahead and descended at its door, scanning around for whom I was seeking. I went inside and followed King Kai's directions, seeing many closed white doors on either side of the massive hall. One of them was open and loud rock music poured out of it. I sensed a Chi signal in there, notably higher than King kai, and also notably banging his head harshly in tune with rock music. _This Grand Kai is my kind of dude._

It only took a moment to find a large double door at the end of the hall, and a completely different environment beyond it. I walked in, seeing the ground turn invisible and nothing but stars and planets around as if I was in space. I detected several power levels on one of the planet surfaces and flew up towards it. I landed on the outskirts and went through some sort of arena doorway, leading out to the ring itself. There I spotted a red skinned man with a blue and white gi fighting against a green skinned man also in blue and white. As I got closer I recognized it to be Dabura and Pikkon. _This must be a massive training session of some sort._ I spotted Videl and Fasha on the far side, looking a bit bruised like they had been through hell during this session. There were several other battered looking fighters around the arena, but none of them looked to interested in getting involved in the current blood letting that Dabura had kicked into. This was also assuming that they hadn't already been involved, Dabura seemed to be the only one that wasn't at least bruised. His energy was stronger than last time, and I sensed a definite Chi signal from him now. I recalled that he had referred to me and the others as "Mortals" a few times, so I wasn't that surprised. Pikkon was as good a fighter that I had heard about and was swift as anything, but Dabura was all over him like a swarm of bees. I took note that Pikkon's heavy garb of robes were still on, so I could only guess that he was actually stronger with them off. He was knocked from the ring a moment later and Dabura stood tall in the center with his back towards me.

"Is that all you weaklings have today? Show me a warrior who actually believes he or she can defeat me and I will gladly accept the challenge!" he taunted. I wanted to talk to Fasha and Videl badly, but Dabura had just tripped a switch that turned on the "thrill of a challenge" genes. He had certainly beaten Gohan and myself last time we fought, and like Buu, I wanted a rematch.

"Anyone at all, even all of you at once!" he dared.

"I'll take that challenge!" I shouted out as I came into view of everyone there. Instantly every pair of eyes locked onto me, but I only cocked a grin at the red demon in the center of the ring.

---

"**Verto, you're here!" Videl called out, waving a bit**. Fasha got up with her and they both jumped over the ring and landed before me quickly.

"Uh...Hi," I said with a slight wave. The two girls then initiated the double death squeeze attack, and I was thanking the ogres who gave me the fruit. That probably saved a few ribs from being broken. Fasha was a little stronger than before, but Videl was a hell of a lot stronger than she was when I last saw her.

"I've missed you," Fasha whispered into my ear.

"How'd you do against all those Zerg? Is Gohan okay? We haven't heard anything for a while up here!" Videl began.

"If Gohan wasn't okay he would be standing next to me, he's fine. Can we save the emotional overflow for a little later?" I asked.

"Oh - of course, sorry," she said.

"Not a problem, I've missed you both twice as much. Now watch out, I accepted a challenge that I plan to deliver on!" I said, stepping into the ring by way of the stairs. Dabura's grin lightened just a bit, but he too looked to be excited for a match.

"We meet again at last, can I expect the same kind of fight we had last time? Or is the little man ready for the big leagues now?" he asked as he lowered into a stance.

I mimicked his own stance with my own, "I'm a whole different person than I was last time!"

"Perhaps, but that doesn't mean you are ready for me! I have encountered just about every life form that there is in this dimension and have defeated them all!" he boasted with pride.

"I don't recall finishing the fight we had, so don't go chalking up a victory before we get it on! And you haven't encountered a Saiyan like me until today, I'm going to show you things that your nightmares couldn't conjure up!" I growled, lowering to the ground just a bit more.

"You remind me of a common bird. You sing your little song and then fly away in fear! When I'm done with you boy, your next fear filled flight will be your last!" he grinned.

"You're the one who issued the challenge, so don't sing it. Just bring it!" I shouted back.

--

**I powered up right off the bat with both energies** flowing through me at maximum Mystic level. I considered jumping to Super Mystic early, but wasn't sure if I was going to need it. I got a good read on Dabura early on, but he had since dropped his power level down, so I thought it might be possible that he was stronger than I thought. I sensed his Chi energy stirring and then focusing into his hands. I prepared for a blast attack of some sort, but instead a large metal sword appeared in his hands. He drew back before charging towards me with it.

"Hey! No fair!" I heard Videl call out. I tensed up before rolling to the side just as he swung down. He slashed at me a few times, missing as I dodged out of the way easily. His power level rose slightly and his speed increased as I had trouble dodging the next few swings. _Gotta take that sword out, if I recall Gohan managed to break it in half._ Dabura flipped around far enough away for me to have time for what I planned to do about that sword. I quickly gathered Psi into my right hand and extended it outwards, creating my own sword of energy. I slashed upwards at the sword, only to stop in mid-motion. I gazed at the collision point between them, seeing that I was at a partial stalemate now. Dabura's solid sword and my own Psi sword pushed against each other, but neither broke. _Okay...That doesn't make much sense, but then again he created that out of pure energy from what I can tell._ I glanced at Dabura's face for a moment, but didn't see that grin that I expected. If anything he was as surprised as me, but he did very well to hide it.

"Your skills are further along than I expected," he admitted. He jumped back suddenly and landed across from me. "We have no need for weapons in our fight," he said as his sword then vanished. I honored this request and reabsorbed my own energy sword, watching for the next move. Dabura didn't budge at all, but his grin returned as he stood ready.

_I guess I'll start things off with a big one, _"Galic gun!" I shouted, firing the red ki beam quickly. I kept it low in power so I could watch what Dabura would do about it. As I expected he dodged out of the way and I picked him up moving quickly off to the right. I dashed that way and attacked right when he stopped. He blocked my initial barrage of punches and kicks before taking to the air. I followed him up before stopping and blocking his hits when he charged back at me. He backed off right when I would have nailed him in the jaw, flying backward just a bit and looking me up and down, like he was studying me.

"Your power is great boy, if only you knew how to use it completely!" he said.

"And what is that supposed to mean, I'm not even trying hard yet!" I replied.

"I can tell just by your movements, you are so committed to the attack that your weak points stand out easily. You're barely worth my time!" he said.

I raised one eyebrow, "You haven't even hit me yet!"

"You will learn in time, I will see to that. For now let's enjoy this little match. I wouldn't mind breaking a sweat after all!"

_He's really getting under my skin...!_ "You'll have more than a sweat broken if you think you've won already!" I declared. Dabura didn't wave me on this time, instead his energy shot up as his red aura appeared. My reading of his Chi energy came in clearer, and he was indeed stronger than I was at my current level. I didn't act upon this yet, my response time to attacks had increased just as much as my power had in the past few months. Being able to follow ones spirit and their life force really helped in detecting movements, even if they could hide their ki. But he was using only the one complete energy, and I suspected that if he was able to hide it really well that I might have some trouble. Dabura floated above the ring slowly, but then extended his arm slowly. A red and very nasty looking blast formed in his palm, and judging by the feel of it, it would sting a little. His other arm extended and formed another one while the other one just spun in his hand. _Great, now what is he gonna do with those?_ He released them just as the other was formed, but neither was aimed directly at me. I glanced towards both sides, seeing the two-energy balls flash with purple as they stopped just short of the ground, not ten feet away on each side. I sensed Dabura holding onto both of them, and I quickly mixed Chi energy together in my hands, holding them up to block. The balls came zooming in once my arms went up, and pushed against the counter blasts I had in both hands. I stood my ground and pushed against both balls with my green blasts, struggling a bit.

"You better give up boy, you're making this too easy on me!" Dabura shouted. I growled a bit, forcing all of my energy together and powering up. My silver aura popped up and assisted in holding his twin red death balls off for the moment. I pushed further and hit the threshold without much effort, pushing the energy balls back once my transformation hit. I noticed a difference right away when I transformed, any strain on my body was pretty much gone thanks to King Yemma's fruit. I hadn't paid attention against Buu as I was a little eager to finish him off, but the difference was there. It hadn't been that bad ever since Zeratul's training, but it was noticeable, similar to early days of being a Super Saiyan. Dabura's blasts blew up at the sides of the grandstands, leaving decent sized holes. He gazed down at me with a slight glare, but didn't seem that surprised at what I just did. Everyone else around me was giving off the shocked gasps, except for Fasha that is.

"All right Dabura, ready for the next round?" I asked with a grin.

--

**Another ten minutes went by swiftly as I engaged Dabura** in a primarily physical brawl. He didn't ever really attack me back, just dodged or blocked whenever I charged in. I hadn't landed much of anything either, which was a bit disappointing. I knew I was stronger than Dabura by a good deal now, but I still had trouble hitting him. I wasn't sure if he was getting that good of a read on me, or if it was due to a greater deal of experience. _Hell its probably both_, I thought as I swung in after him with another barrage ready to go. While I attacked and got a majority of my attacks deflected, I tried to figure out what Dabura's battle plan was. It had changed midway from mostly offensive to completely defensive. He hadn't even taken a swing at me since I transformed. I had a serious wave of déjà vu hit me as I remembered that Goku had said that a head on attack wasn't going to work on him. Gohan and I had both tried before and it didn't do much of anything except wrinkle his cape, even when we were coordinating our attacks. _Aw crap, that's all I've been doing is a straight on attack on him, no wonder I'm having trouble. He must have some sort of defensive strategy that I just can't get past no matter how strong I am!_ I stopped attacking as soon as I realized this, backing off in the air and taking a deep breath. Dabura allowed me to have this temporary break, watching me carefully and staying completely on guard. _Guess its time to get creative._ I gathered a potent Chi ball in my right hand and chucked it straight at him. He stood unmoving, looking ready to deflect it. While the ball flew at him I gathered my energy sword again, this time full of green Chi. I flew straight at him just as the ball got close, catching his attention easily as I phased out. I sped up and reappeared behind him, only to see him drop to the ground in a big hurry. My chi ball sped in next and I used my sword to deflect it straight back at Dabura's position. His eyes locked onto it and opened a little wider.

I dropped back and gathered a big one, "Super Galic Gun!" I fired it right when Dabura deflected my other chi ball with his hand. The beam exploded around his position, leaving rock chunks and dust around it. I didn't sense his energy go down, so I knew I didn't get him, but odds are I had gotten his attention now. The smoke cleared to reveal that was no longer there, answering that question.

"You are vastly improved from the last time I saw you. Perhaps you are worthy of this unique power you have discovered," he said behind me just as I sensed him.

"I'm only getting started," I said with a grin as I spun around. Just as I turned, he jumped at me and attacked before I was ready for him. I managed to block his first two hits before catching up enough to block the rest. He had switched his style again, this time to offensive. I dodged all of his punches and kicks easily, trying to figure out why he had switched. He jumped back suddenly as I stood still, grinning brightly. Something around me changed suddenly, but I didn't know what. I found what it was just a second later when something felt wet on my chest. My eyes went wide as I stared at Dabura, who nodded slightly.

"Aw shit." I descended to the ground quickly. My skin started to harden just as I landed and soon I couldn't move anything. I dropped my transformation when I lost my breath, and soon all I could do was watch, as my body became a stone statue and I lost all sight.

**Power levels:**

**Verto: 300,000,000; Super Mystic: 600,000,000**

**Dabura: 270,000,000; Full power: 400,000,000**

**Pikkon: 240,000,000**


	5. Announcement

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 4: Announcement**

Fasha was the first to declare her distaste for Dabura's tactics, but she wasn't the only one. She had jumped into the ring to confront him about it, and the other dead fighters held grim faces for the Demon King. Fasha powered up to Super Saiyan 2 almost immediately and stalked straight at Dabura with intent on hurting him. Dabura glared at her and silently warned her to back down with a powerful Chi blast ready to go in his hands. Pikkon landed in front of her and put his hand up to block her path.

"That is dirty pool Dabura, you shouldn't use such a dangerous technique on an ill-prepared fighter!" Pikkon growled a bit.

"You restore him right now, you big bully!" Videl shouted from the side of the ring. She currently felt a little bolder standing next to the large and strong purple dinosaur, Maraikoh.

"I will do no such thing, it is his own fault that he wasn't expecting it. He has fought me before and thus knew I was capable of turning him to stone!" Dabura explained plainly. Fasha broke past Pikkon's arm and stomped straight at Dabura, stopping 10 feet shy of his position.

"What? Are you planning on doing something about it, girl?" Dabura sneered a bit.

"I'm gonna tear your fucking head off, that's what I'm gonna do!" Fasha screamed at him as her aura flashed with violent ki lightning.

"It is fruitless to attack me, you know this from our previous matches. But if you want to waste my time and get beaten down again, far be it from me to stop you!" Dabura answered calmly.

"Fasha, the only way to restore him to normal is to beat Dabura, I know you can do it!" Videl cheered. Just as her hands shot up in encouragement, some dust and small chips of the ring began to rise and spin around the ring in circular fashion. A blue energy began to swirl around the ring as well, glowing at times and startling everyone present.

"What is it?" Pikkon asked first.

"Some sort of energy field. However, I cannot pinpoint its source. I recommend backing off," Dabura said quickly. As the fighters backed off, the energy field closed in on the Verto statue and spun even faster. Lightning began to strike the ground around the statue before striking it at the feet. Once it made contact, part of the stone covering crumbled, leaving a white boot behind much like the original. Once everyone noticed this, the wind from the energy picked up and the energy lightning returned. It became much faster and much more furious as it struck the statue several times per second before several bolts simply passed straight through the legs and dimmed as they flowed upwards.

"What's happening?" Videl dared to ask. No one answered, but they were all thinking the same thing. The lightning storm continued briefly before the stone on Verto's legs started to flake off.

"What the!" Maraikoh now asked, stunned. Underneath were Verto's natural legs and skin tones, not to mention normal clothes. The lightning soared upwards and the same thing happened above his knees to his stomach area.

"Is this possible?" a new voice asked, belonging to the human Olibu. Just as he asked this, the lightning gathered around the hands and freed them as well. They stayed as clenched fists, but shook slightly as the energy surged upwards. Very soon they all heard a low level battle cry hit the air. It only increased in volume when the stone on his face shaved off and then continued through his hair. His whole body arched back a bit as he pushed his energy upwards, probably to make sure he got it all of, which he did. And just like that the young Saiyan warrior, Verto, had freed himself.

-----

When I had first frozen in place, I panicked slightly for obvious reasons. I sensed everyone around me however with no problem, except I couldn't hear what they were saying. By the way Fasha's energy flared, I guessed she was about to tear Dabura a new asshole for what he did. I tried to flare my own ki to try to get out, mostly by instinct. It never came, but considering I was now a stone statue, I wasn't that surprised. I took quick note that I could feel and move around my Psi energy with no problem, and I quickly tried to figure out a way out of this. _Well, it cured my Zerg state before, and Old Kai said that positively charged Psi could cure rare conditions. I'd say this qualifies as pretty damn rare!_ I quickly surrounded myself with the energy and sensed it emerge quickly. I used a similar technique to the Stasis field and Psi storm to focus the energy, though all I really did was surround myself with it. Everyone's ki levels suddenly tensed a bit and backed off, suggesting that they might have seen or sensed what I was doing. I kept happy thoughts about my friends while sending the Psi back at myself much like the Psi storm, but I only hit one spot on my boot for a test. Suddenly I felt that small part of my foot return to normal, like the lightning had taken off only the stone piece. I released more energy and let it spin faster around me to turn up the power of this stormy solution. I hit my feet like before, but this time hit all of my skin below my knees. I knew I had succeeded once I was able to wiggle my toes in my boots. I continued this process of eliminating this stone casing until I got up to my neckline, where I hesitated for a moment. Once I hit my throat though, I started yelling just by the use of energy as it passed upwards, and to give it that extra burst. I quickly let the lightning surge up through my face and the top of my head, also covering every inch of my thick hair in the process. Once all of the stone was gone, I swung backwards just a bit, making sure I could move somewhat normally. I stopped my screaming by then, looking my self over and powering down with a deep and satisfied sigh. Everyone present was staring at me with that look that usually reads: "Holy shit, how did you do that?"

"Are you okay?" Fasha shouted as she came running up along with Videl, faces full of concern. She and Videl checked me over, but found nothing as expected.

"I thought no one could get out of that, without killing him!" Videl exclaimed, pointing at Dabura. I figured the red demon king would be at least a little surprised at what I just pulled off, but he simply crossed his arms and closed his eyes with a slight grin on his face. I stepped forward as the girls checked me over, walking right up to the tall Demon king.

"You knew I could get out of that, didn't you?" I asked straight up.

"I had a feeling that it might have been possible for you to pull off. Like I said before, you are further along that I believed you were. A little more work and you may be ready for your real training!" he said with a slight sneer. With that said he spun on his heel and flew upwards, exiting the arena and more than likely heading for the way out of this place.

"That guy is such a creep," Fasha said with a hand to my shoulder.

"I get the feeling I'm going to be seeing a lot of him," I muttered aloud.

"King Kai said that he was supposed to be your new teacher or something, but I don't think you need any lessons from him. He's just a big bag of hot air anyway," Videl said with a steamy glare at the departing demon.

"My new teacher, what the hell is he gonna teach me?" I asked in amazement.

"No clue, something that Kibito Kai dude mentioned," Fasha said, rubbing my hair a bit.

--

**I turned to my beloved next**, there was something aching to get off of my chest and I had to let it out now, despite being surrounded by a bunch of fighters and probably being the strongest one of them. I backed off about two feet before starting up.

"Fasha, I'm…I'm so sorry for what happened on Char," I said, choking a bit as the salt water began to well up. She stepped up and embraced me tightly, my head buried in her navel.

"I tried to stop him, I really did, but I couldn't. Not until you were already…gone," I whispered the last part as I began to cry my eyes out.

She ran her hand through my hair, patting it slightly, "Shhhh, I know, I know."

"I just couldn't stop him, I killed you," I said sadly.

"Look at me! No you didn't. I don't care if it was some deep down dark side or the Overmind himself, you did not kill me, so don't ever think that way!" she said, holding my head out and up to look right at her. I gulped and nodded slightly as she wiped the tears from my eyes.

Her eyes darted to behind me, "Where is your tail?"

I heard Videl gasp behind her, "It's gone?"

"I removed it a few days ago, after, a bad episode," I said slowly.

"Why did you do that, was it depression, or the bond, or what?" she asked seriously.

"No, well - kind of actually, Vegeta and Bardock didn't explain it that well. The Overmind sent out clones of all of the Saiyans it had fought against, except for Gohan that is. Everyone else, including me, were cloned and infested, we had to fight against all of them. He sent one of you after me, and I thought it was really you. It was a very convincing copy with all of your memories and it fooled everyone except Vegeta. She injured me pretty badly because the Overmind had brought back my tail weakness. I was lucky that Vegeta was able to pull her away and fight with her for a while so I could get away. I ended up killing her in the end, and it hurt me a lot deep down. It felt like I had killed you again, and my tail was the victim that night," I explained.

"Guess we can't get him to behave or go to sleep quickly anymore then," Videl joked as she came up beside us.

Fasha cast her a look, but smiled a bit as well, "Yeah, I guess not. Poor little guy. You must have been through hell since I saw you last!"

"You could say that, all I really want to do is rest, and be with you again," I said with a smile.

"Of course," she said, bending down to her knees and locking in a death squeeze that I returned.

--

"**Ahem, are you two done yet, or do you need a room?**" I heard beside me after about a minute. I glanced over to see a tall and built blond human looking man standing there, wearing a white tunic of some kind. If I were to guess, he sort of looked something like Hercules out of some of the Greek mythology I had read before.

"Our sparring session isn't over yet and we kind of need the ring," he said with a kinder voice.

"Oh, sorry," I said with a slightly red face.

"It's understandable, I have seen it many times back home," he said, waving it off.

"Your energy feels...human," I said as I scanned him.

"Yeah, his name is Olibu. I remember reading some ancient texts about him back on Earth. He's human like us! Well, like me anyway," Videl said.

"Pleased to meet you, young Verto, the girls here talk about you quite a bit," he said, offering his huge hand to shake.

"Likewise, I heard about you from Goku," I said carefully.

"Oh yes, how could I forget that guy. To think he managed to win his first Other World tournament without even training here at all! I sense that you and him are a lot alike, both in power and kindness," Olibu said with a knowing look. Just as he said "in power", I noticed that the dinosaur-like fighter flinched badly before backing off a step.

"Hey, wait a sec! Isn't there a tournament here really soon? King Kai has been talking about it non-stop!" Videl suddenly asked, getting my attention.

"That is correct, the Grand Kai is holding one every six months or so now that Goku left. A great thing to look forward to rather than thousands of years of training. At least we don't get bored anymore when we don't have Goku here to plow everyone over!" Olibu noted.

I glanced over at the green fighter Pikkon, "Hey. What's up?" I said with a slight wave. He barely nodded back.

"You met him before?" Fasha asked.

"Yeah, kinda died once before when we fought Majin Buu," I explained quickly.

"That reminds me, any idea when were going to be wished back?" Videl asked.

"Old Kai said I had to stay here for at least six months and that they would pass the message on, but you guys can go back anytime," I said.

"Forget that! If you're going to be dead for that long, then I will stay as well! I'm not letting you out of my sight again!" Fasha said with a stormy look.

"Me neither!" Videl said, sporting a similar look. Both women put on wide eyes and furious stares, making me feel a little intimidated by their presence.

"Besides, we kind of like it here. I sure don't mind staying dead for another 6 months, as long as it's with you," Fasha said, rubbing the side of her head against my cheek a bit.

"Hey no fair, don't hog him!" Videl said, doing the same to the other cheek.

The other three fighters looked on in amazement, "Wow kid, I can't say I've ever had luck like that with the ladies!" Olibu joked.

"You'll sleep in my bed won't you?" Fasha cooed in my ear.

"No way, he can stay with me!" Videl shouted back, yanking on my right arm.

"In your dreams sister!" Fasha fired back, tugging on the other. I could tell they weren't being that serious about it, just playful. The humiliation that came with it wasn't needed though, which only fueled it into continuing. The other fighters just shrugged a bit as this continued on the way out of the arena, though we managed to fly out of there without a catfight breaking out.

---

"**Yes, there is going to be a tournament soon.** It will actually be in just three days at the arena. We are expecting quite a turn-out fan-wise," King Kai explained when I brought it up a few hours later.

"How many fighters can participate?" I asked.

"Only sixteen will be accepted for the actual bouts and four from each galactic quadrant," he said.

"So who is going from yours?" I asked, crossing my fingers.

"I haven't decided yet, however I think I may have them figured out by now," he said with a slight grin.

"Is Dabura entering?" I asked.

"I believe so, some sort of exchange of interest with the Supreme Kai. I think he be fighting for East Kai though, he will not be representing the North," King Kai said thoughtfully.

"Is that where he's from?" Videl asked, without the facts.

"He's not even from this dimension, but I can only assume that since he was in the Eastern galaxy first, that is what this was based on. I really have no idea," King Kai exclaimed with a shake of the head.

"Hey Northy!" I heard a stubby voice call out from my left. I glanced over to see Pikkon coming closer, but a very short purple man accompanied him. He had pointed ears like King Kai did, and a similar outfit, but did not have the sunglasses.

"Oh great, just who I wanted to see today," King Kai groaned.

"Hey Northy, I was talking to you! Is it true that you plan on entering nothing but rookies in this next tournament? Well, is it?" he stomped up and asked. Pikkon seemed to be rolling his eyes behind this new comer, so I had to guess it was West Kai, but I wasn't sure.

"Not completely, short stack. I still plan on entering Olibu this time. But the other three are rather new here - you're looking at them right now. _Guess that answered that question,_ I thought as Fasha gave me a slight nudge on the backside.

"_Oh, come on, you think I would let you be left out. I heard you love tournaments!"_ she thought at me before I turned around.

"_I've only been in one of them really, and I kind of got cheated out of the finals!"_

"These three? Two wimpy little girls and a midget boy?" West Kai dared to ask.

"Who are you calling a midget? I doubt you're knee high to a tall Indian, shrimp man!" I said with a dark stare at him as King Kai started laughing like crazy. It was kind of funny. West Kai was shorter than I was by a few inches.

"How dare you, take him out Pikkon!" he said as he pointed at me.

"Not today, sir," Pikkon grumbled.

"But he insulted me, I wish for you to fight with him and beat him into the ground! Show Northy that his fighters are all worthless!" West Kai ordered again.

"What's the matter, can't fight me yourself? After all, I'm just a boy," I said with a sly and cocky grin. West Kai started rolling up his sleeves before Pikkon warned him to stay back.

"I don't suggest you fight him, it would be most unwise, master," Pikkon said.

"You're not worth my time anyway, I hope all your rookies are well-versed on losing Northy!" West Kai shouted as he and Pikkon strode off into the distance.

"Man, that guy is _annoying_," Videl said with a deep frown.

"Let me guess - he comes around a lot?" I asked.

"You could say that," Fasha said, giving me another playful little nudge on the back of the neck.

"I suppose you all want something to eat?" King Kai asked just before our stomachs could state the question.

"Well, I haven't eaten for about two days, so yeah that would be nice. You can fix something light for me though, that fruit of King Yemma's filled me up pretty easily," I said.

"I'll get the fire going if Videl can get the food in order. I trust you two may want some time alone for a little bit," King Kai said, pointing towards his house. Fasha led me inside and had me sit next to her on the two beds that had been pushed together.

"So what all happened, you know, after Char?" she asked straight up.

"There is a lot to tell, my training was most of it. Then some issues with the Terran factions around there, not to mention all of the fights I was in on Auir," I began.

"Enlighten me, tell me that Gohan at least trashed that moron Aldaris. He did, didn't he?" she asked with a slightly excited look.

"Gohan fought him and beat him the first time, but he got away and used his technology to gain the upper hand. I'm the one who finally killed him," I said.

"I see, what about the Overmind, how did all of that go? You mentioned a bunch of clones of us, but no details. I want to know how the other battles went, do tell!" she said. So I told her while the delicious smell of cooking rose into the air.

--

**Interlude 4.1 –The Invitation-**

--

"What is it you want?" the tall fighter asked. He had been pulled from a standing meditation by this newcomer, and he did not like it to say the least.

"Sorry dude, but I have some minor business to discuss with ya," the newcomer said.

"What business could you possibly have with me?" the tall one snorted.

"How would you like to fight in the Other World tournament? It'll be held in two and a half standard days?" he asked.

The tall fighter stiffened a bit, but relaxed, "I'm not interested in your pitiful little tournament. No one there will be worth my time!"

"I can make it worth your effort, if you win - I will grant any request that is within my power to grant!" the stranger said with a gleam in his eye.

"And what good is that, I'm in hell for eternity! They would probably send me back down the instant I would show up, assuming you could even get me out of here for that long!" the tall fighter said, unamused.

"I promise to fulfill your request if you participate. There is a few special fighters at the tournament that may be able to challenge you, assuming they make it through the opening rounds of course!" the stranger said with a grin.

"There is only one request that I have, and that is a fight with a certain person. However I doubt the Kais will even let him participate. He probably has a lot of training to do before he is wished back to life by the dragonballs!" the tall fighter said, turning back around.

"Oh I believe he will be in the tournament lineup, and I can guarantee you a match with him, tournament or not! However, if you do not enter, I will not grant your request to fight him!" The stranger said with a wicked grin now.

"Fine. I suppose I can go out and win this stupid little match for you. but why may I ask are you so concerned about this? Why would you want someone like me to enter and win the tournament for you?" The fighter asked.

"Let's just say...I don't believe that anyone there is worthy of the Grand Kai's lessons - at least not right now. I will arrange a spot for you in the draw, and maybe we could get you a different look. Good luck," he said, walking off. The tall fighter looked a bit confused, but scowled and stared off into the distance of hell. He spent some time wondering why this person would even want to visit him considering his past. Well, both of his pasts.

**A/n: Boy that's a tough one to figure out isn't it? (Insert Massive Eye-roll here)**


	6. Tourney Time

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 5: Tourney Time**

Other than going through a never-ending conversation with Videl and Fasha, my first night was uneventful. The meal cooked by Videl was pretty good, and she seemed to have picked up quite a bit of speed in preparing it. This was a very good trait to have around Saiyans, otherwise it would take hours to complete one meal. Luckily I didn't eat that much right now thanks to that magical fruit - just a few platefuls. I wasn't really sure how all of the food appeared, though. King Kai's shelves were pretty bare. It wasn't until Videl actually opened a cupboard that I actually saw what was happening. A white light came from it and she literally reached into nothing and pulled out food. Nothing that was cooked, but it was food. When I asked King Kai about it, he explained that it was a magical portal to a space designed for creating food. All one had to do was imagine whatever kind of food they wanted, and it would appear in their hands once they reached in. The only draw back was that it wasn't cooked, just raw.

"You wouldn't believe how handy those miniature dimensions are, especially in the presence of a Saiyan. Its magic is unlimited, but I think Goku might have drained it if he was here much longer!" King Kai joked.

After a very good dinner was polished off, I was shown to one of many very cozy hot springs around the planet. This one was rather close to King Kai's pad, so it made for a convenient bath nearby. I couldn't get away from the Videl and Fasha bathing fiasco, though thankfully there weren't any other fighters around to witness them embarrass me to death with their affections. While I somewhat enjoyed the attention, I felt distant to them both, like a stranger. I knew full well that I wasn't going to be able to be with either of them for that much longer, so I didn't object to their constant contact. I did bring up the separation ritual with her during the long bath, but we agreed that we would do it towards the end of our stay before we went back. I didn't have a problem with that, unless some super powerful villain showed up in the afterlife, nothing dangerous would come of it. Bedtime was another issue as the skies darkened to nightfall. King Kai materialized another bed for me, but was bombarded with the "He can sleep in my bed" attacks from the women. He simplified things and put a larger bed in the upstairs room, one that all 3 of us shared. I was pretty sure that I blushed myself to sleep that first night with both of them on either side and not letting go of my arms. Then again it sort of made sense, in a weird sort of way. Fasha wasn't going to be here much longer and we both still loved each other to an extent. The separation by death had only strengthened things between me and her, but we both knew that it shouldn't be. So she was only taking advantage of the time we had left. Videl on the other hand was cut off from all her family and friends except for me. She had taken the active roll of the big sister or really good friend, which seemed to produce an equal amount of affection. Since I was in the middle between them, I was being careful on controlling what I was thinking. Fasha could hear my thoughts as it was, I didn't need Videl jumping in on it either. I was surprised to learn they had become close friends and training partners without much of a hitch, but the war probably did that by default.

**---- **

**When I awoke the next day**, I was surprised to see that both girls were no longer there. I sensed them not far away doing some sort of training, but it didn't feel like they were sparring. I dressed in my blue spandex outfit and caught sight of King Kai napping in his chair. I attempted to sneak past him quietly, but when the chair leg smashed the monkey's tail - well, you know.

"Some alarm clock," King Kai muttered as Bubbles ran circles in pain.

"So what do I get to learn from you then?" I asked as he spotted me.

"Shoot, I don't know. The Supreme Kai already taught you the Kaio-ken technique, and you passed other tests pretty easily. I suppose all that's left is the Spirit Bomb!" he said.

"I've been meaning to bring that up. That's a Chi-based attack, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yeah, it is. Otherwise, it may be able to hurt just about anyone if used improperly, good or evil. How did you know this?" he asked.

"Let's just say I made use of it when Goku formed one on Auir. I sensed what made it while I was fighting the Overmind. He mis-fired and the Overmind sent it back at Gohan, who was trying to protect me. A lot of power was added to it in order kill us off, but I was able to absorb it with my sword and use it to power up again," I explained.

"Then there shouldn't be too much to explain. All you have to do is call out to all the life and spirits around you, and with your thoughts, ask for their energy. It will flow to you - if you let it. I suppose the advantage with you is that you can form one with your own power, however I don't advise that unless absolutely necessary. Pure Chi energy can be the most dangerous force to use, and in a fighting Spirit bomb, its power can be overwhelming. Since you understand the basics, I don't feel the need to go into extreme depth, you have a smart enough mind to figure it out. Besides I'm sure you would rather do some Saiyan style training before the tournament!" he suggested.

"Yeah, I suppose. You have any training weights around here or something? My clothes are just hand-me-downs and they're pretty light," I said.

"I can fix that, what kind of appearance would you like?" He asked, his two antennae flipping forward.

"I'm not sure. I haven't had my own choice before, just whatever was provided," I said. I felt his Chi surge and surround me a moment later. My clothing then vanished and was replaced by a red-orange gi. It also included a heavy blue shirt underneath the orange top. I glanced down to see the same color of pants, a blue belt, and dark metal boots that weighed quite a bit as well. I also noticed weighted blue wristbands appear on my arms.

"What do you think?" King Kai asked.

"You do me too much honor in giving me Goku's colors. Not quite my style. Maybe if the top and pants were a different color," I suggested.

"Hmmm, since your stronger attacks are green in color now - maybe something like this!" he said, his Chi surging around me again. This time a cyan-green color outfit took its place around me. The undershirt and the belt remained the same deep blue color, but the top and pants had shifted to a bright teal and greenish shade. The boots also took a slight shade of green. King Kai held up a mirror as I looked myself over. For some reason, it just looked natural.

"I think this is it. For some reason it fits just like I want it to. The color seems to go with the eyes pretty well now I suppose," I noted. Funny thing was that I usually could care less about my appearance as long as it wasn't horrid.

"Glad you like it. You have a point about not taking on Goku and Gohan's colors. First of all, you are unique to both of them and deserve your own look. Secondly, I doubt that Vegeta would like it too much," King Kai chuckled.

"Yeah, he's less likely to kick my ass on a daily basis this way," I said with a rub of the hair.

"Anyways, the shirt weighs about two hundred and fifty pounds, the wristbands are seventy a piece, and the boots weigh a hundred pounds each. In this gravity, that should be good for training, even passively," King Kai said.

"They weigh that much? Sure doesn't feel like it, maybe twenty pounds total is all I feel," I said, glancing at the items of subject.

"Probably because of King Yemma's fruit, and the fact that your new-found energies seem to be making your body denser as you train with them. So they won't feel as heavy as they should, but in a major fight, they could slow you down just a bit from your potential speed," he explained.

"And to think Vegeta always thought meditation was a waste of time," I chuckled.

"Amazing isn't it? Speaking of which, feel free to train as you like. You may want to get some of it in before the tournament gets here. The guys around here have been doing it for a very long time," he said.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind, I'll be back later," I said with a slight wave out the door.

--

**I suppose you could say I felt more unique** and powerful with this new cyan colored version of Goku's uniform covering me. I strolled through the North area of the planet for a little while, catching the eyes of other fighters engrossed in their own training. It wasn't until I caught the eye of a blue fish like being that I stopped. He seemed to have a piercing gaze about him, and soon I felt like someone was looking at me from behind. I sensed no one back there, but the blue guy was giving me a seriously strange look. I suddenly felt dizzy and felt like my memories were being scanned, like some sort of higher telepathy that I could barely detect. _Stay out of my head!_ I thought out to the intruder, flaring my Psi energy. The presence left abruptly as I noticed the blue fighter gasp. I got closer to him to realize he looked very familiar. He walked up as well to give me a slightly unnerving stare down, but kept it at that. This didn't produce the best greeting I could have with him, but it got the point across.

"You got a problem?" I asked carefully.

"You're a Saiyan," he said plainly.

"Yeah, I noticed you tried to scan my mind. I'd like it if you didn't resort to that," I said.

"I've never encountered a good-hearted Saiyan before, never mind a Saiyan with telepathic ability. There is only one that should have any higher thoughts, and he died with the rest of them by Frieza's hand," he said plainly.

"Not all of them are heartless brutes, just most of them. I live on Earth, where we Saiyans protect the planet, not strive to destroy it," I explained briefly.

"So I've seen, but why do I think I have met you before? I know I have not, and my people have excellent recollection abilities," he said. I quickly deduced who this was, his words gave him away.

"You're that Kanassan I met before, the one who told me about my Psi energy," I said quickly.

"You know of Psionic energy. How is this possible? Saiyans do not have the means of using it!" he said in a panicked voice. _Doh, I forgot that he never met me in this timeline, just the new one we made in the past._

"Would you like to scan my mind again? You would probably understand a little better. Just keep it toned down," I said with a warning glance.

"That would be a great help to ease my troubled thoughts on the matter," he said. I sensed Psi power from him just then, and I carefully suppressed my own. I felt dizzy again, but just for a moment as some of my memories were probed. It only took a few seconds for him to stop, nodding as he did.

"I think I understand. My apologies about scanning your mind without permission, it's a habit for suspicious people around here," he explained.

"I take it you don't like Saiyans too much, its okay I understand," I said, waving it off.

"I wish you luck in the trials ahead," he said as he walked off.

"By what do you mean? I keep hearing about all these tests and foes I'm gonna have to face. Can I at least have a hint?" I shouted to him.

"To do so would be, inappropriate. Enjoy the tournament," he said in a lower voice, walking off to do his own training. _Great, why can't I ever get any answers? How typical this is becoming._

_-- _

**I spent the next many hours in meditative training** after my encounter with the Kanassan. Except that I elected to hover about 10 feet off the ground in a sitting position, much like Piccolo does all the time. Mostly just generating both Psi and Chi fields around myself and then moving them around, nothing too special. As a precaution though, I warned other fighters that dared to close to stay away. A few of them actually listened, the rest learned when the sudden lightning bolt hit six inches from their feet. Once I felt that I had freaked them out enough, I sped up the energy around me, but not allowing it to strike anything. I slipped a few times with this, but it only made a few burn marks in the ground. After a few hours of this I pulled the ki back to me and watched as the field turned blue again. Then I simply worked on the shielding technique I had developed. I mostly worked with the speed of creating it around myself and making it strong enough to repel the bigger attacks. The only problem with it was that if I had to create it too fast, it would only block some of the attack, especially if it was energy based. If I had more than 5 seconds to gather it, then I would be able to make a stronger shield that would deflect and completely block a strong attack. At times that seemed like a waste of energy as I could just dodge with my speed, but that wouldn't stop any damage if I didn't escape. That and there was the possibility that I would take my eye off the enemy, and if they were fast, it would be bad. At the same time there was a chance that my shield would take the explosion with no problem, but would also blind my eyes from seeing the enemy. I spent a lot of time watching others with my energy senses after I thought about that issue. I eventually invited a few others to bombard my Psi shield with low power ki blasts before stepping up the power. It did an excellent job of either absorbing the impact or deflecting them completely, depending on the amount of power used. I was mostly impressed with the fact that I didn't lose much energy maintaining this shield, only when it weakened and I had to add to it. I found a variation of it that was easier to form, but only blocked against 1 side at a time. Basically like a miniature version of it for stopping single attacks, but easier and less energy being used. I saw this as being handy to use with one hand to block or deflect medium power blasts or blows. Both versions of the shield were handy, it just depended on how big the attack was. However, unlike a ki shield, I could absorb nearly all of the energy back to myself with minimal effort, so energy use was almost a moot point.

**I used the following day to trained with** Fasha and Videl in a similar way. I made the discovery that Fasha had been through the wringer with Vegeta before coming to Char, her movements were very similar to him. Videl's power had gone way up as I had noticed before, but the fact that she could barely handle a Kaio-ken times ten - well, I was quite surprised. I learned why, hearing that her daughter's energy had been transferred over to the mother upon death. It made quite a bit of sense, and she was close to where I had been after my first round of training in the time chamber. I also sensed that she was near her limit, I didn't feel much hidden potential once she was powered all the way up. She wasn't surprised when I mentioned this, nor was I. I did feel a higher trace of Psi within her, but I doubted she could do anything with it. This was probably because of the energy of her daughter's spirit might have been absorbed as well, but I wasn't sure. Both girls were amazed at some of my new techniques, though I neglected to show off the more destructive and dangerous ones. I considered trying out a Spirit Bomb like King Kai had said, but decided that it could wait till after the tournament. It wasn't like I was going to need it in a friendly little competition, no matter how violent it got. We spent the 2nd night with a great meal and plenty of rest. I wasn't sure that I would need it, but the girls probably would.

--

**After an awesome breakfast**, King Kai led us to the Grand Kai's palace. Large amounts of people were already there, with more filing in every moment.

"All of the planet is here today, but only a select few get to participate, chosen by each Kai," King Kai explained briefly.

"I assume all three of us are in?" Videl asked with a smug look.

"Yes, I typically let a few of the more inexperienced fighters have a go. Obviously you three won't quite fit that category anymore. Beware, some of these fighters have trained for thousands of years. Their techniques are very polished and often flawless in execution. Olibu will join you in the competition - however, I do not know how the draw will work out. You may have to face each other," King Kai warned as the crowd filled in around us.

"That's okay, it wouldn't be the first time. I just won't take it so easy on the shrimp over here," Fasha said with a teasing tone.

"Bring it on, woman," I sneered back with a grin. She had elected to wear a similar outfit like mine, only it was all a dark blue color with no weights. Our discussion silenced into a few telepathic taunts as the crowd noise became quite loud and the halls filled up. In no time, we were back in the vast, planet-sized room. Most everyone in the crowd knew how to fly, as we joined the massive swarm of fighters heading to the small planetoid.

**King Kai directed us to the ringside area**, where I spotted the three other Kais on each side along with their own warriors. The lady-like East Kai was sitting on a motorcycle and surrounded by 4 other fighters. First one was a blue fish like guy, who was short and looked a little overwhelmed. Next to him was an even shorter fighter with a long beard and white pants. Thirdly, there was a blue haired fighter with a larger build. All three of them seemed about equal in strength, but paled in comparison to the tall red demon behind them. King Kai was right after all, Dabura was fighting for the East Kai, though I doubted he cared either way.

**South Kai had a confident look about him**, but only directed it towards King Kai. There was a large blue man sporting a chef like hat behind him, the strongest of the group. There was also a green Frog like creature, a red man with insect-like wings, and some sort of big, white butterfly/moth creature. Olibu made a comment about South galaxy being a rather peaceful place. Considering the energy levels that I sensed from these fighters, I was inclined to agree. The big blue one felt a little strong, but his energy was very raw and unfocused, anyone with control would own him.

**West Kai had a different line up** than the other two in overall power, not including Dabura. Pikkon was present next to him, and it was probably his presence that kept West Kai's grin so wide. Next was the strong purple dinosaur, Maraikoh. Third was a small alien with a weird looking head. He didn't feel very strong, but he did look fast. Lastly was some sort of green skinned humanoid with skinny arms and legs. I noticed that his whole outfit was solid green as well. He didn't look like much, but his limbs seemed a little longer than they should have been.

--

**A small green skinned man** with a mushroom for a head and a blue suit walked out to the ring with a mic in hand once the crowd started to settle down.

"Welcome to the Other World tournament! Anyone who hasn't seen the show probably just died, so here are the rules! Each quadrant will submit four fighters, those sixteen will then battle it out in a head on, single elimination competition. The rules are simple, if you can't answer a ten count, give up or fall out of the ring, you lose! No cheap shots like poking the eyes or hitting below the belt are allowed either. Otherwise, you can't kill anyone in this tournament, they're already dead! But please do not try to either, punishment is living in hell for fifty years! The winner of the tournament will receive bragging rights, a gold medal, and a guaranteed lesson from the Grand Kai himself!" Mushroom MC announced. He then pointed up towards the Kai in question, who had really long white hair underneath his funky looking hat. He was also dressed up like the other 4 Kais with their symbol, but he probably didn't like formal wear too well. _Join the Club_. He almost looked like Willie Nelson to be honest, with much longer hair, pointed ears and a longer beard, and he almost spoke like him to.

"I want a good clean show. I want ya to fight fair and fight well, but more than that, fight like ya mean it and give us a hell of a show!" he announced, his voice kind of horse sounding. I guessed he probably smoked too much, a fact revealed just seconds later when he did indeed light up a cigar.

"We will now randomly select the opponents with a computerized draw on the board. Hold on tight folks, we have no idea how this will work out!" the MC said, sweating a bit himself. The white board then flashed several times before displaying small words below each spot, but I couldn't read them from where I was.

"Well folks, we got quite a lineup for ya! Leading off is the brand new fighter for the North Kai, Verto! My, my, this kid is small! What was North Kai thinking? I don't like this kid's chances!" the MC said first. I scowled when I heard this, _No, whomever I'm facing shouldn't like their chances!_

"And fighting him is the extremely flexible fighter from the West, Longid!" He said as he pointed out the green man standing near West Kai. _Right…_.

"That's your cue my boy, go make us proud!" King Kai said, giving me a slight push towards the ring.

"I'll be back in about ten seconds," I muttered, not really happy with what seemed to be a beyond easy draw.


	7. First Round

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 6: Round 1**

"Hahaha! Your new rookie is gonna get beaten down!" I heard West Kai taunting from behind my back.

"In your dreams, I'll be surprised if Longid is still there in a minute!" King Kai shouted back. _Yeah, so would I._

"Well looky here folks, this boy Verto resembles the great Goku. Perhaps a distant relation, we shall see! We all remember the last six times we tried to have a tournament! Goku beat everybody! Time to find out if this boy can live up to the legend!" the MC shouted again. I noticed the crowd groaned a lot when he mentioned Goku, as if they knew what might be in store for the show. As I lined up across from the green Longid, I noticed his arms were almost dragging on the ground as he walked up. They hung very loosely, like he had no bones in his arms and they were made out of elastic or something. I heard a clang of some kind coming from the Grand Kai, meaning the starting bell just rang. Longid came charging at me, almost too slow for me to stay awake. His arms swung high and clumsily in the air before coming down towards my face and neck. I lazily blocked with both arms, expecting this guy to break his hands just by hitting me. When the blow didn't come, I glanced up to see that his hands had wrapped around my wrists several times, and his body had jumped back across the ring, his arms lengthened quite a bit. _They got the flexible part right, he's like a ton of rubber._ He had a grin plastered on his face as he landed on the other side of the ring, easily fifty feet away, maybe more. I snapped my arms back sharply and watched that grin vanish as he flew overhead in a panicked state. I grabbed the ends of his arms and swung downwards, putting him right into the ring at a high speed, face first. His hold released as I heard a painful moan, and his arms shrank back to his body. He managed to leave a minor dent before he stood up, slightly surprised. West Kai stood outside the ring behind him, just as wide-eyed as his student, but without the birds floating around his head.

"Wow, it seems this boy is stronger than we thought. Longid sure is in trouble now folks!" MC mushroom man announced. _Well at least he got it right this time. _

"Want to keep going, Stretch? Or are you done?" I asked. He got up slowly, flinching in pain a few times. He eventually made it to his feet and tried what you could call an extended punch from where he was. It was something I had seen out of Majin Buu a few times, and even from Piccolo. His fist flew in with a great deal of speed, and stopped just as fast when I blocked it. Just as I was about to throw him again, his arm stretched over my own and enveloped my whole forearm much like before. I felt him try to pull me back, and I let him do it. I used his momentum to charge in and nail his chin with a soft punch. His hand unwrapped easily as the rest of him went flying into the far wall, way out of the ring.

"Oh man. Longid sure did get served, our first winner is Verto!" the MC announced. I heard a little bit of cheering, but most of them were concerned about what just happened to Longid. I didn't sense he broke anything, but he didn't appear to have any bones after all. Paramedics came over with a stretcher and loaded up the body before carting him away, arms and legs dragging all the way.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," King Kai said with a slight grin as I jumped down from the ring. I was surprised to be honest, at the fact that he wasn't dancing around yet.

"You smoked that guy!" Videl said, giving me a high five.

"Wasn't worth it though," I muttered.

-

**The next five minutes were spent on King Kai** and West Kai bickering back and forth about lucky kids and bad jokes, shortly before the wager was made.

"Argh, that kid got lucky! He's going down next round!" West Kai claimed.

"If your fighter makes it to the next round, I guarantee that Verto is going to make the semi-finals at the very least. No one in the bracket has a prayer against him! The North side is taking the title again!" King Kai retorted.

"Fine, I bet you that one of my fighters takes the gold! I'll be your slave for a week if anyone from your quadrant wins the tournament. But only if you agree to the same!" West kai dared.

"Sounds like an easy bet! Same goes for me if one of your losers wins it all!" King Kai announced. _There's some incentive to win this thing._ The two Kais finally stopped bickering once this bet was placed, and the Grand Kai called for the next match.

"Hey King Kai, where is Fasha and Videl in the bracket?" I asked once the bickering was over.

"We usually don't disclose the draw until its time for the matches. It adds to the unpredictable nature of this style of tournament," he said quickly.

"Good answer…" I muttered.

-

**The large blue Papoi stepped up when announced**, representing South Kai. West Kai then sent the small but speedy looking short man up there, his name Tapkar.

"Wow folks, this is a fight with opposites! As we know, Tapkar is small but extremely fast. Papoi boasts great strength and size, but is still new to the Other World, who's going to win this fight?" the MC said.

"Go Papoi, pound that little midget into dust!" South Kai called out.

"Yeah right, that overgrown rookie is gonna get blown down!" West Kai said with a grin. The bell sounded and the tiny Tapkar started running in place. His legs churned faster and faster until all I could see was a blur below his waistline. _Just as I thought, incredibly fast, more than I thought as well._ Tapkar blazed around Papoi, who didn't even have time to shift around to see him. Soon there was just a big circle of dust while Papoi tried to find his opponent. I barely saw the new dust trail forming behind Tapkar as he ran circles around Papoi easily. He stopped once Papoi had his head turned the other way, and punched the crap out of his knees. He ran into a snag when he saw they didn't do anything at all. He kept trying, until a fist larger than half his body slammed into Tapkar's head, and he dropped to the ground. Papoi picked him up and tossed him out of the ring, fast asleep from the blow.

"The winner, in convincing fashion, is Papoi!" Mushroom Man announced. A loud roar of cheers came up from what was marked the South section.

"Yeah, that little blur is going nowhere now!" South Kai celebrated at West Kai's deep frown.

"Argh, he had a pretty bad stomachache, that's all! Plus I wouldn't want the kid to have to fight two of my fighters in a row. He deserved some variety!" he claimed.

"Yeah, sure! Sounds like another excuse from the west side of the planet, haven't we heard them all by now?" King Kai taunted.

"You just wait, even if that kid gets to the semi-finals - that means he'll have to fight Pikkon as well!" West Kai claimed. I glanced at the green fighter, who seemed more annoyed with his master's claims, rather than backing them up. He looked back at me and grinned just slightly, more like he was looking forward to having a go with me. I grinned back, only because he would probably be the only challenge I would have, save Fasha or Dabura.

**Speaking of Pikkon, he was up next to fight. **His opponent was the small blue fighter from East Kai's core, Arqua. He looked beyond nervous as he stepped into the ring to face the strong green man. This had West and East Kai going at it for a moment, until Arqua landed at their feet.

"Ha, told you!" West Kai pointed out.

"Well folks, whatever is left of Arqua has definitely been defeated!" the MC announced, "Up next is a match between another new rookie from the North quadrant, and a rare, female fighter, Fasha! And fighting her will be our buddy from the East, Chapuchai!" Fasha fixed her gloves for a moment with a deep grin on her face as Chapuchai strode into the ring. He was even shorter than Tapkar was, and I wasn't sure that was possible.

"_At least your taller than both of them. Otherwise I might be too much woman for you,"_ she thought at me, using enough suggestion to get the point across.

I grinned back at her, "Just be careful, you never know what some of these guys might be able to do!" She nodded and jumped into the ring, facing the tiny warrior.

"You better win Chapuchai! Otherwise you're grounded!" East Kai warned. I cocked a slight eyebrow while the other Kais chuckled at this.

"What's so funny?" she asked with a furious stare.

"Nothing, just the fact that your little mascot is fighting a Super Saiyan. He's going to be beyond grounded after this match!" King Kai laughed.

"A Super Saiyan? Like Goku was? Oh no!" she whimpered, pulling her hat down around her ears. In the ring, the tiny man was in a fighter's stance in front of Fasha, who kept her arms folded. The bell rang and he charged forward. He stopped short and hovered a few feet, circling around Fasha. Then he sped up and kept his tight circle. He moved even faster to the point where it looked like there were seven smaller versions of him in the ring. I looked closer, and sensed 7 distinct signals around Fasha now.

"What is that, some sort of split form? I know he can't be moving that fast, what gives?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's a cheap move. Get used to it with East Kai's fighters around here!" West Kai sneered, drawing a general scowl from the counterpart.

"It's a cheap move that isn't going to help him," I muttered. The 7 fighters surrounded Fasha and swooped in for the attack. Fasha had a little trouble for a moment until she flared her energy and sent them all flying backwards. Once her blue aura was up, she phased out and knocked out every one of the midget fighters. Grand Kai went through a ten count before calling the match.

"Fasha is the winner, setting up a potential great match with Pikkon in the quarter finals!" the MC rang out. _Oh boy, that will be a good match, assuming she lets it happen,_ I said as she walked up.

She walked right by before stopping behind me, "_I suppose I could give him a match. Then me and you are gonna have it out!"_

I cocked another grin, "_Bring it on!"_

_-- _

**I was only interested in one of the next two matches**, the slightly better one being first. Olibu stepped up the ring when called, only to find himself face to face with Dabura.

"Oh boy. This is going to be a slugfest," Videl said.

"If Dabura lets it go that long," I answered. Olibu charged once the bell sounded, hitting Dabura's blocking forearms quickly. They went around the ring in just a few moves, all of which were blocked by Dabura. Olibu fired a sizable ki blast at him, only to see it knocked away easily. An asteroid blew up above the arena, brightening things up. Olibu phased out of view and kept moving that way, trying to catch Dabura off guard. Dabura stood in one place and blocked or dodged everything that Olibu threw at him while he circled around. Nothing got through again, and Olibu went even faster, phasing in and out of view as he zoomed around the demon king. Several shockwaves per second went off as Olibu made some sort of contact with Dabura, but I could see that he only hit the blocking hands and knees. After about a minute of this, Olibu stopped and jumped away, huffing and puffing as he came down and landed. Dabura hadn't even been hit despite a very good effort from Olibu. Olibu dropped into a stance and waited on Dabura this time, probably hoping to conserve some energy and time by taking the defensive. A sudden energy surge caught my attention and I gazed over to the right, where all of South Kai's fighters were. The white butterfly creature had suddenly emitted a large surge in power, one that I had doubted he was capable of. Dabura noticed as well and took his eyes off of Olibu. BAM! Olibu took the quick opening and let Dabura have a fist sandwich. The distraction didn't last, and Olibu was quickly thrown into the ring, stomach first. Dabura wiped his chin clean before kicking the human straight in the side before giving him a backspin forearm that sent him into the grass.

"The winner is the Demon King, Dabura!" the mushroom announced. Olibu managed to get up, but very shaky in doing so. Dabura looked disgusted with himself for dropping his guard like that, but then cast a gaze towards the butterfly creature again. I followed the movement, also sensing that the sudden power surge was gone. To my surprise though, the butterfly was gazing back at me and not the demon king he managed to distract.

"What's up with that moth thing?" Fasha bent down and whispered into my ear.

"I'm not sure, I sensed some sort of power surge, and it distracted Dabura as well. Olibu's lucky he finished it quickly, he could have gotten hurt badly," I noted as the human limped up.

"Ho ho ho, finally someone in my quadrant is going to the semi-finals!" East Kai said, jumping up and down.

"Only on a technicality, he isn't your fighter at all," West Kai muttered.

-

**The next match went slow**, so I decided to grab some food while the green skinned Frogue and the blue haired Dragonetti beat each other's brains out. Both were decent fighters for their power level, but the movements were too slow for me to acknowledge. Fasha joined me in a short feasting, though the Grand Kai was encouraging the black hole stomachs with a lot of food.

"So what do you think I should plan for against Pikkon?" she asked. I didn't have a real clue, only what Goku had said about him a few times in the past.

"Well all I can think of is to keep your eyes or senses locked on him at all times. I really don't know what he can do, for all we know he's been hiding his true power and he may be on par with you. I don't think he is, but I do know he wears some extremely heavy clothes. Goku was always comparing him to Piccolo," I briefly explained.

"Did he mention any special moves?" she asked.

"Wouldn't you rather be surprised? He may give you a better match and challenge that way. Besides haven't you all been training in this one big group anyway, surely you saw something out of him? I just got here and I only spoke with him for a few minutes during the whole Majin Buu incident, so I'm in the dark," I said while munching down a big steaming turkey leg.

"Actually, no. Whenever Dabura held one of his beat downs he just defended against everyone. Pikkon fought him a few times, but never did much other than ki blasts and other general movement. He also never took off his weighted clothing," Fasha explained.

"Beware then, who knows what he may actually be able to do. Just because he trained with the midget doesn't mean he's weak," I warned.

"Don't have to tell me twice, hey, Videl is up next!" Fasha suddenly shouted out as Videl jumped into the ring. I noted the green Frogue had been knocked out of the ring, meaning that Dragonetti had won. East Kai seemed happy, but then pissed off at the same time, as Dragonetti would be facing her other "fighter", Dabura, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

-

**The red skinned insect from South Kai's camp then strolled up**. His energy seemed a bit higher than Videl's did, so she was going to have a tough time with him. Assuming of course she didn't use the Kaioken attack, which would shift things in her favor right away.

"Ok folks, here comes another North vs. South battle as the earthling Videl takes on flyboy Torbie!" the MC announced. The bell sounded and Torbie charged at Videl right away, wings flapping wildly.

"Yeah Torbie, tear her up!" South Kai cheered. Videl ducked under his punch and swung a knife hand into his back. Torbie stumbled from the attack, but flipped upwards just as Videl ran in, kicking her in the upper back area. She took her own stumble before landing on one knee and flaring her energy. She phased out just as Torbie came in for a low kick. I sensed her jump above him and come down for a double arm smash. She narrowly missed his head and got out of the way of his next punch a split second later. They traded missed blows and phase-outs for the next few seconds, dodging whatever they had to throw at each other. This ended when Torbie charged a big ki beam behind him and fired just as Videl landed on the other side of the ring. She sent her own Kamehameha at it, no doubt King Kai or Gohan had taught her how to do it. The two beams clashed explosively and struggled with each other for a moment. Videl gained a slight advantage before she sprung her trap.

"Kaioken - times two!" The red aura popped up just as the Kamehameha surge arrived, blowing Torbie right out of the ring and into the grass.

"And our winner, Videl!" Moderate cheering came from the North section, but nothing more.

She sighed and walked back over to Fasha and I, giving thumbs up. "No sweat!"

-

**South Kai was too busy bitching about rookies** to notice that his next fighter was in the ring, facing the strong dinosaur.

"Hey, look Northy! South Kai is about to lose another one!" West Kai joked. The other two Kais laughed a bit as this outmatched butterfly floated into the ring.

"Hey, I thought that his transformation wouldn't be complete for over a thousand years?" King Kai suddenly asked.

"I'm not sure myself, but he turned up a few days ago, ready to fight again. I can only imagine that his metamorphosis does not take quite that long. Still it is strange," South Kai muttered aloud.

"Like it matters, he's about to get pounded into mush!" West Kai declared as Maraikoh stomped into the ring. I tended to agree, however the butterfly creature had emitted a strange and sudden power surge earlier, therefore I wasn't sure. I noticed Dabura eyeing the moth as well, trying to figure him out.

"Next up, we have the strong arm of West Kai, Maraikoh! And facing him will be Caterpy! Nothing is known about Caterpy's strength now that he has transformed into this new form. One can only guess on what sort of new tricks he has learned! Whether or not he can take on Maraikoh is another story, let's get this party started!" the MC teased, probably not knowing either.

"Throw him into orbit Maraikoh!" West Kai laughed.

"Caterpy…uh, try to avoid his attacks!" South Kai called out, trying to shout some sort of encouragement. Maraikoh stomped forward with a deep grin, intent on doing something nasty to Caterpy. Caterpy stood his ground and even dared to close his eyes, as if just waiting for the end quickly.

"Hey look, South Kai's fighter is giving up! About time they did something smart!" West Kai pointed. Maraikoh shook the ground as he got within two feet of the moth, drawing back a potentially devastating punch. I sensed another power surge from Caterpy, but no one else seemed to take notice, as he seemed to hide it rather well. His signal felt familiar suddenly, but vanished just as fast. Just as Maraikoh would have connected, his face erupted with painful shock. Caterpy had easily ducked the punch when it arrived, and buried his fist in Maraikoh's large stomach. Maraikoh didn't do much more than gasp before just standing there and allowing his jaw to quiver. Then he simply fell over as Caterpy retracted his fist and looked at it before crossing his arms again.

"What the?" South Kai asked, as even he was astonished. The crowd became silent as Grand Kai hit the ten count and declared Caterpy the winner. Maraikoh still hadn't moved afterward and the stretcher was called out. None of the Kais made much motion, West Kai least of all. Since they had no clue, I glanced over at Dabura, who was still giving Caterpy quite an eyeful. I walked over to him alone, wanting to get his thoughts on the matter.

"I advice great caution in dealing with that one. He is not what he seems," Dabura suggested, not shifting his eyes at all.

"Yeah, I noticed, but his energy almost seems familiar," I mentioned.

"Yes, I detected that as well. We shall see through that guise eventually. Either you or I will see to that," he said, before walking off.

**A/N: What is the mystery of Caterpy, and by what is Dabura referring to? The 2nd round is next, and will feature some potentially fierce battles, what will transpire? The matchups are: Verto vs. Papoi; Fasha vs. Pikkon; Dabura vs. Dragonetti; and Videl vs. Caterpy. Place your bets. And for those of you who have figured it out, Heh, try not to spoil it too badly for the others. Just a note here, so far only Rodaiogin (the proofreader) has figured it out, which to me is quite a surprise, and it isn't because he gets to look ahead of time.**


	8. The Quarter Finals

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 7: The Quarter finals**

"I hope everyone has made it back from our first intermission, because the quarter-finals are beginning right now!" the mushroom man called out. Instantly there were swarms and even a few fights in the stands between spectators trying to get back to their seats.

"First up with have the very young rookie Verto taking on the strongman from South quadrant, Papoi! Get back to your seats people, this looks to be a showdown in the making!" he announced again. He kept a weird and excited grin on his face while I just stared back at him with a frown.

"All right Papoi, pound that kid into dust!" South Kai called out as his big man entered the ring. King Kai was struggling not to hold his laughter while motioning me to go to the ring.

"I'm going to say - the kid wins," West Kai said, startling just about everyone.

"You are?" King Kai stuttered a bit as even I looked over in surprise.

"Yes I am, South Kai has been bragging forever about how Papoi was going to beat everyone at this tournament. Besides, I want Pikkon to beat the kid later!" he said as if he had planned it out. I stopped listening to the Kai tirades going on and entered the ring, staring down my opponent, or in this case, staring up.

"Yeah!" he shouted out, flexing a bit. _Ugh, a Mr. Satan wannabe._ I dropped into a slight stance, ready for whatever this big guy had and ready to send it back at him. The clang sounded once the crowd quieted down, they seemed eager for a good fight. I let a little of my power flow, just enough to be cautious just in case this guy wasn't the pushover I took him for. I felt a tiny amount of ki being emitted from him, but it seemed more like he was simply preparing to charge forward, he didn't have that much focused energy around him. _Is this it? Is that all that I have to fight around here other than Dabura? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, there can't be that many bad guys left! Oh well, it's not like I have to use everything in the arsenal on these weaklings._ He did charge me as I expected, the ring shook a bit as he ran at nearly full speed. I waited until he was five feet away before I did anything. His huge fist nudged my leg when I phased out, so he was a bit faster than I expected. It didn't throw me off course though, and I power kicked the big man in the back of the shoulders. He stumbled forward before twisting around and flying right at me, more power surging from him this time as I moved at his same clip through the air. Once he started using energy, I got a better feel of his potential. Flying and maybe low power ki blasts seemed to be what was in store, the only real threat was his physical nature, as I had expected. I let him get closer before phasing out from another knife hand that nearly took my head off of my neck. I landed on the ground behind him as he did the same, grunting a bit in an alien language.

"That your max speed, big man? If it is, you better just quit now! I haven't even started yet!" I boasted as he gathered himself. He brought his arms up higher and seemed to flex a bit, uttering a low battle cry.

"Ground Shaker!" he shouted as he brought his arms down. The whole ring took the impact, but a sudden rush of energy came from his feet and tore up the ground in a straight line coming right at me. I hovered into the air cautiously, until I saw what was happening. I dodged out of the way at the last moment and watched the energy attack fly out of the ground in the form of a wide beam. It wouldn't have hurt me by any means, but it certainly could have stung. Just as I turned back towards Papoi, all I saw was a huge fist in my face. As I was knocked back by the unexpected attack, I mentally cursed for letting myself stay so wide open.

"Verto, watch out!" I heard Videl call out. My self-disgust caused me to almost make another mistake when I realized I was no longer in the ring, but hovering outside of it. I felt some blood trickle from my nose and ran down to my lip. I stopped the momentum with a quick burst of ki, pissed that I had allowed all of that to happen. A Psionic lightning bolt or two streaked out of me as result, and I had to get my emotions back under control, a result of anger. It more than scared King Kai, but most of the stadium didn't react to this as much of a threat. I took a calming breath and suppressed my Psi even more, allowing King Kai to gasp in relief. I rushed at Papoi, who cranked back for a big punch. I put both hands forward and stopped his own punch as I arrived. Grabbing his huge arm, I threw him over my head and charged when he landed. He was up just as fast, but couldn't block the quick blows that followed as I ducked in and out of his attacks to strike with my own. Three punches and two power kicks later, he was airborne and eating dirt when he landed in the grass.

"Well, that's that folks! after a close call of clearly underestimating his opponent, young Verto wins the match easily!" the mushroom MC announced - that first line got my anger going again. I kept it somewhat hidden this time, landing and stepping out of the ring with a slightly discouraged frown.

"What's wrong, Verto? What happened out there?" Fasha asked.

"I'm not sure. I guess I'm just not very focused today. I'm not used to peaceful times again I guess. There's always been some sort of enemy on the horizon for a while and now there doesn't seem to be. I'm just not that eager when there isn't any sort of bad guy to defeat. I just went through a big string of them and now with none left, I just kinda got bored, bad time for it. Guess I nearly blew it there didn't I?"

"Sometimes I wonder about you, kid," Fasha said, ruffling my hair a bit.

"You need to control your power better Verto," King Kai warned.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I don't think that little burst would have harmed anyone badly since everyone here is dead, but maybe that will get the point across when I tell them to stay away during training," I said, rubbing the back of my head like a former student of his.

"Well, while you were busy with that gorilla, that moth thing I'm fighting was watching you pretty carefully. He seems almost confident that he's going to face you later and win or something. Well I'll give him a few things to worry about first!" Videl declared. I glanced at Caterpy, who was indeed staring at me. The grin on his face seemed familiar from somewhere, but I couldn't place it. I didn't bother to either, because my next opponent was going to be the winner of the next match, not him.

"It's time to get Pikkon and Fasha up to the ring please!"

**The aforementioned fighters took their places** in the ring and both of them silently powered up. Pikkon didn't hold much back as he released his strength, and thus Fasha had to transform to the first level to even think about fighting him right away. He also did not take off his training robes, but judging by the look he had been giving me, I would indeed see them come off before the day was done. They didn't go at it until the bell sounded, but then the ring lit up with a gold and blue light that danced around one other. The crowd let out their oh's and ah's in the early warm-ups before they really got going, as they were probably not going to see what would transpire until it was over. The fight didn't really get interesting for five minutes, a lot of ki blasting and a ton of dodging and flying around. Although they were pretty even power-wise, they were still holding back, no doubt either testing each other, or trying to save something for me. Fasha was pretty much at her maximum without ascending further, which would end the fight in a heartbeat. I wasn't sure what Pikkon was waiting for, though. I had heard he never really took off his heavy robes and I knew he was stronger than he was letting on. When Fasha finally beat Pikkon to the punch and bashed him into the ring, things turned up a bit when the gloves came off.

"Uh oh, there goes Pikkon's training robes! Get ready to take cover folks, this fight is about to get nasty!" the MC said, pointing out the obvious. Pikkon's power suddenly jumped up quite a notch, overtaking Fasha at Super Saiyan 1 pretty easily when he finally let it all out. A flash of blue went by Fasha's golden form not a moment later, leaving a few cuts across her sleeves and telling me that indeed Pikkon was much stronger than he seemed. She scowled and turned towards his direction, finding he was no longer there. She barely dodged a ki blast explosion an instant later and she floated in the air and tried to track her opponent. I was able to follow Pikkon without much trouble, though his current level was almost on par with my maximum Mystic state without a transformation. I watched as he zipped around the ring a few dozen times, letting her fire off blasts to no avail, leaving nice holes in the ring that South Kai complained about. She lost him completely soon after, not seeing that he had elected to stand on an asteroid directly above. She cursed when she realized she hadn't been able to keep up and glared up at him. He fired a big blast straight at her once she found him. She dodged aside and got clobbered in the face by his fist when the blast exploded. _Uh oh_. The surprise attack was successful, and allowed Pikkon to pummel her body with dozens of fast punches and kicks. I scowled when he nearly broke her nose and sent her flying toward the wall.

"Fasha, look out!" Videl shouted. Fasha woke from her slight stupor and shook the cobwebs from her head a bit. She was floating ten feet off the ground, just on the outside of the ring. She glanced down as she realized this, and made a cardinal mistake of taking her eyes off of Pikkon. I wanted to help her telepathically through our partial bond, but I knew that she would not be happy about it. Pikkon's energy shot up once Fasha stopped, and his movements shifted into a bit of a ritual dance, spinning around with one hell of a bomb in his hands. I caught a sense of his massive attack coming, but noticed that some of it didn't come directly from him.

"THUNDER - FLASH - ATTACK!" I took note of the attack name as a huge flame wave poured from his hands with the intensity of most of my more potent attacks. Fasha was able to jump and phase out of the way before it hit her. I sensed the attack would have definitely stung if she had stuck around, and probably would have ended the match. The crowd wasn't so lucky, and several partially charred aliens were trying to brush themselves off a moment later once the attack was done. Luckily for them, the most dangerous part of the attack seemed to be closer to Pikkon, and the attack lost a majority of its power once it was a certain distance from him, something that didn't make much sense all of a sudden. Once Fasha was clear of the fiery blast, she rose up to the skies in a big hurry. Pikkon spotted her right away and blazed up after her. She gathered her energy and powered up further, pushing the barrier and ascending to Super Saiyan 2 quickly. She didn't take a chance and took it all the way up this time, stopping Pikkon in his tracks. Her power shot past his pretty quickly, leaving a similar difference in their power levels on the flipside. Pikkon cautiously lowered himself to the ground, apparently not the first time he had crossed paths with an ascended Super Saiyan. He remained very calm though, which got my attention since his power was considerably lower than her's.

"She's got this thing won now," Videl said with confidence.

King Kai was nodding as well, "Chalk up another win for the North side!"

"Oh man, Fasha's new form has just gotten even brighter and more powerful than before, sure looks like Pikkon could be in for trouble now!" the MC announced. Fasha landed in front of Pikkon with a bright and cocky grin, one that she probably got from training with Vegeta so much.

"You might as well give up now!" she warned, raising a hand to charge a blast. _Fasha, don't underestimate him. He's hiding something!_ I thought out of instinct, not intentionally trying to help her. I doubted it would matter though, it would be like King Kai giving her the advice that he should have been right now, he didn't sense what I sensed. Fasha seemed to be laughing a bit in the back of her mind, thoughts of "gimme a break" and "this guy has no chance now" were flowing quite nicely.

"What's wrong, afraid you'll have to face her next round?" Videl asked, slugging my shoulder gently.

"No, I'm not afraid of either of them, she is doing what I just did, underestimating her opponent. There's no way he could look that calm and not be hiding something from us, and I think were about to find out what it is!" I said, not taking my eye off of Pikkon. He was relaxed to be honest, but he also looked very focused right now, his energy flowing sharply. I suddenly felt a surge of power from him that wasn't there before, and I was sure it wasn't anything hidden as I had been scanning him quite actively. His arms dropped to the sides for a moment before his battle cry hit the air. A bright flash of red went off as his aura activated, it too was red. _So that's what it is._

"Kaio-ken!" Pikkon shouted, indeed showing he was capable of something more. His power soared and topped out quickly, having Fasha instantly worried. She barely dodged his first charge and flipped over gracefully. She directly blocked his punch when he came flying in, and a scuffle of punches ensued. Fasha barely kept up with his new speed, and about lost it when she overextended her fist. Her quick recovery time wasn't quick enough as Pikkon nailed an uppercut on the very next attack, sending saliva flying and her body across the arena. She stopped short of the edge, wiping the blood trail from her mouth and growling. Pikkon lined up across from her, Kaio-ken aura still going. _Looks like he can maintain it for a long time. Guess it's a good thing that at this level it takes a huge amount of energy to use it, so there's probably not going to be any doubles or triples going off here. _It looked like Fasha had lost it and she started charging something similar to a Galic gun behind her, ready to fire.

"Let's go!" she shouted. Pikkon went through his thunder flash movements again, looking intent to accept her challenge.

"Galic Cannon...Fire!" she shouted, giving a slight change to the move, and firing a golden beam this time. The flame wave from Pikkon smashed into her beam and the two struggled momentarily while tearing up the center of the ring. I saw right away that her beam was swallowed by the Thunder Flash wave, but I sensed more energy coming from Fasha than I did from Pikkon. I sensed her send a massive amount of her power down the beam in order to win it all, but Pikkon's thunder flash seemed to feed off of it and issue its own rebuttal.

"You got her Pikkon, finish the job!" West Kai cheered. I narrowed my eyes slightly and got a better scan of Pikkon's finishing move. _That wave...is feeding off the power sent against it, almost like my feedback technique - well, not quite, but close. Goku never mentioned that, but then again he may not have known._ Fasha must have been hearing my thoughts or had figured this out on her own, because she shut her beam down and got the hell out of the way as the beam smashed into the stadium. This time I felt Pikkon let up and the attack lost a lot of its power before giving another portion of the crowd more than a tan, telling me what I wanted to know. I sensed the energy evaporate into the air almost right away, on command from Pikkon. A lot of the energy for his move came from the surrounding area, not just within himself, so any added energy against it would be a waste and almost a countered effect. I had noticed it in the first attempt, but now I had the answer to that question. Pikkon's Kaio-ken aura blazed in front of Fasha when she reappeared in the ring, mowing her over now that she had burned up so much power. _That's it. She lost,_ I thought, trying to keep it contained, though I'm sure she knew already. Only a few hits more landed before she was knocked out of the ring, landing on her rear just a few feet behind me.

"Oh man, that hurt!" she said as she got up slowly.

"Pikkon is the winner!" the MC shouted as the crowd cheered.

"You ok?" I asked, checking her over.

"I need to listen to you more often. I didn't see that coming!" she said, trying to figure it out.

"You're not the only one," I said as Pikkon jumped down from the ring. He picked up his robes but tossed them over next to the stadium wall, seemingly content to leave them off as he stared at me now.

"You better tear him up, or no one will save you from me!" Fasha warned with an odd sound of encouragement.

"I'll cross that road soon enough," I said, returning Pikkon's stare as he smirked slightly.

**The next match took about as much time** as it took to announce it. Dragonetti had no prayer against Dabura and the whole crowd knew it. He valiantly attacked for about five seconds, four and a half of them spent running at Dabura from behind, and was knocked out of the stadium by Dabura's no-look-backhand. I still couldn't sense where he landed when Dabura left the ring two minutes later. Videl stretched a bit, as she got ready for her match with Caterpy.

"Videl, be careful against this guy," I warned, watching the butterfly creature intently. I slid a little closer to the ring as they took their positions. Caterpy had a smirk that I had only seen on a select few bad guys, one that I was sure I had seen before. Fasha couldn't figure out what I was thinking about so she asked directly, only to walk away confused when I said that I had seen that smile before. She walked back towards the wall, muttering about damage from head blows being passed through a telepathic bond.

"So, I hear you're the famed daughter of a world champion, is that correct?" Caterpy announced, his voice sounded extremely ragged.

"Yeah, that's right," Videl said quickly, sinking lower in her stance.

"What a shame, I thought you might actually have potential then!" he said in a mocking tone. _Now how would he know about Videl or her dad? Surely the gossip grapevine is a little more detached up here?_ Videl didn't hear my thoughts, only her own angry ones as she charged at Caterpy. Her first blow was dodged very easily, and the butterfly's energy barely budged from where it was. _Whoever this guy is, he sure has a handle on his power._ Her next kick was blocked instantly, and Videl began to try a little harder.

"Triple Kaio-ken!" The red aura came up and her power tripled, but didn't do a whole lot of good in the flurry of punches and kicks that followed. All of her attacks were easily blocked or dodged by Caterpy, who's smile never waned a bit. She backed off once she realized that it was doing nothing, catching her breath for a moment. Caterpy had yet to even take a step, and Videl was already worn down.

"Is that all? Then again I suppose your father wasn't much to look at either, at least you can provide a small amount of entertainment while I start warming up!" he teased. _Where have I heard that before?_ I asked myself, not finding the answer. Videl didn't seem to care and powered up further, dropped back for a big blast.

"Kaio-ken times ten!" she shouted, as the rocks began hitting us from the powerup.

"Be careful Videl!" King Kai warned.

"I'll get you! Kame...hame...HAAA!" she uttered, ignoring King Kai for the most part. The beam charged Caterpy and actually caused his smile to fade just a bit. His energy shot up from nowhere and he batted the beam into the skies, destroying a few asteroids far above before dissipating. Videl gasped for breath in shock, but it didn't last when Caterpy instantly appeared next to her and gave her a more than vicious backhand. She landed and skidded till her head was draped over the side right in front of me.

"Hey Videl, I know you don't want to, but you better give up," I whispered.

"Ugh...! No way, I haven't trained so hard for nothing!" she rasped back while holding the side of her head.

"Yeah, but it's just a tournament, and this guy hasn't shown us any of his potential yet. Trust me, I know what I'm sensing," I said cautiously as Caterpy stalked up. He directed his grin towards me as he bent down to pick her up by the scruff of her shirt.

"You had better end it now, unless you want to deal with me that is! You know full well that she doesn't stand a chance against you right now, you had better not toy with her!" I warned.

He glanced at me and gave off a curious look, "Are you in that much of a hurry to get beaten, boy?" he asked smugly.

"Are you in that much of a hurry to find out? I can sense that you're holding a ton back and are just playing around right now. Rest assured that if you face me, you'd need everything you've got! I suggest you don't waste it and end the match now, otherwise this could get ugly!" I threatened, cracking my knuckles audibly.

"You would be disqualified from the tournament, I don't think you're that foolish, runt! Besides, she's already dead, a few broken bones will put her back in her place," he chuckled.

"If it means protecting my friends, then I don't care about the match! I'm not like Goku. If you cross the line, you will pay the price in spades! Keep going - you'll have more than a few broken bones when I'm done with you," I said with a subtle growl, bringing up Goku to remind this bug as to what he might expect. He seemed to think that over for a few minutes while the Kais finally figured out what was going on and were heading our way. Just as King Kai was shouting at me to back down, Caterpy lightly tossed Videl from the ring and to the ground.

"And here I thought you would actually go down that road," I scoffed as I checked Videl over.

"Perhaps a later time, boy! We'll see if you can make it that far to be worthy of my time!" he said with a sudden change of tone as he walked off. I shot a stare at him as he said that, knowing I had heard that tone before. I ignored it for the moment, seeing if Videl needed anything for extreme medical attention. Other than some pretty decent bruises from skidding across the ring and taking that nasty hit, she was fine, but a little woozy. King Kai walked her over to a bench to help her clear up what had to be a stinging headache, but I kept my glare on Caterpy, or so he was pretending to be. Dabura caught my glance and nodded slightly, he apparently knew that I had figured out who it was, or that I was going to tear him apart one way or another.

"Man, who is that guy? I didn't think he was that strong! He took my beam at full power and sent it into the sky!" Videl moaned as her head cleared a bit.

"He's obviously stronger than we thought, but Dabura is probably going to punch him into the next century," King Kai said, getting a scowl out of South Kai. Judging by the feel of South Kai's energy, he wasn't sincere or even that certain about Caterpy at all. I was, however, very sure of who and what he was. I didn't announce it aloud so not to start a panic, and frankly I had too many questions as to why and how he was even up here. But now I didn't care. My drive for a good fight had just kicked on, and "Caterpy" would do nicely. _Oh yeah, I'll make sure we have the match that you backed out on, Friezell!_

**Power levels:**

**Pikkon (w/o robes): 280,000,000; Kaioken: 420,000,000**

**Fasha: 75,000,000; SS1: 190,000,000; SS2: 390,000,000**

**Videl: 7,500,000; Kaioken X3: 22,500,000; Kaioken X10: 75,000,000**

**Caterpy (Friezell): 340,000,000**

**A/n: I would think that it was obvious by now (** Rodaiogin - _If it isn't, you're all pathetic._ **) that Caterpy was Friezell, it won't be revealed to the whole crowd till next chapter though.**


	9. The Unmasking

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.**

**Chapter 8: The Unmasking**

We had a ten-minute break in the action before the semi-finals started, meaning I had enough time to take care of the essentials and then prepare for my match with Pikkon. Once I was out of the bathroom, I spotted Dabura waiting in the hallways of the stadium, more than likely waiting for me judging by the way he was staring at the wall.

"I hope you aren't going to ask me to throw the match against that moth. I will not lie down for anyone, and your emotions need to be trimmed down so that they do not interfere with your decisions and actions! That is the only way you will become the great warrior that you can be!" he began.

I looked at him funny, "No, I wasn't going to ask that. I'm probably going to fight him whether you beat him or not. I know who he is and what he's capable of. I'd hate to say it, but he's had several lifetimes worth of experience when it comes to fighting, maybe even more than you. If you beat him to a pulp, it'll just save me the trouble later, I really don't care. One way or another, he is going down," I said as I passed by.

"I don't remember you as being so...sharp before. You almost seemed frightened, yet strangely brave when it came to fighting Majin Buu and myself. Those wars with the Zerg must have really taught you a few things about the real universe. Perhaps you do know what you are doing," he said, almost sounding sincere.

"Unfortunately it did teach me a few things. Things I didn't want to know or believe. In reality, I don't want to face this great future that people like you keep talking about, and I don't want to have to be called on to repel the next wave of evil that kills everyone. The fact that it threatens everything I love so dear demands it though, so I guess I have to be ready for it. I'd rather be a regular child and live a happy life with my friends than to have to worry about what the future brings to my path. Since that isn't going to transpire the way I want it to, I will make it come to pass with all my power if I have to. No evil force is going to screw with my friends...or me." I growled in recollection to what all had happened to date.

"And that - is how you need to be," Dabura said quickly before walking ahead of me and into the arena. _Well, that went smooth, hard to believe he actually agreed with me considering he just contradicted himself. I thought I had a lecture coming for sure._

_-- _

"**Can we get Caterpy and Dabura to the ring please!**" the MC announced as I walked back out. I was a bit surprised that they shifted the draw a bit to make my match last in the semi-finals, but I suppose they all thought the next one was a squash match anyway. Dabura stood with his arms folded in the middle of the ring as Caterpy stepped in, a deep frown on his face like he was angry. I could tell he was going to take this seriously, however - his power was going up the whole time.

"So, the great Caterpy is finally going to learn a lesson," Fasha asked, stepping up beside me.

"Yeah, say goodbye to your last fighter South Kai!" West Kai declared while the others chuckled. South Kai frowned a bit, as if he knew that to be true.

"What's wrong, love, surely you want to see this fool get his face beat in?" Fasha asked with a slight grin as I stared at Caterpy.

"He's not you who you think he is, I think Dabura is ready to reveal that," I said softly. Indeed Dabura looked more than ready, but Caterpy didn't seem that worried.

"I think your makeup is starting to run! Are you going to show these weaklings who you really are, or hide behind that pitiful disguise? Dabura dared.

"So, you have figured it out already, I didn't think the great King of Demons possessed a brain!" Caterpy laughed, with a very familiar voice coming from his throat.

"It wasn't that difficult to deduce, and the boy figured you out a while ago. If you even think your ready for him, I suggest you try me out first. Let's see just how far your new power goes!" Dabura challenged.

"Since you're in a hurry to beg at my feet, I won't keep you or the audience waiting!" Caterpy declared, assuming a power up stance. A blue aura surrounded him first, and I felt the power I was expecting begin to spill out. His white skin and wings began to crack and flake off, revealing a purple and pink tint beneath. The wings turned dark purple, almost black, and the top of his head became a deep purple color as well, between the pink crown protecting it that is. His face became much more sinister with purple and white skin, and a golden aura emerged once the disguise was gone.

"What the...! It's Cell!" Videl cried out.

"That looks like a relative of Frieza!" Fasha pointed out.

"Actually, it's both. He calls himself Friezell. They fused when Kibitoshin's magic earrings fell off and they got a hold of them," I corrected them. The crowd began to chatter loudly as the Kais got into an uproar.

"How did he get up here?" King Kai shouted out.

"Pikkon, I want you to send this punk back down to hell where he belongs!" Grand Kai ordered. Pikkon launched at the ring, but was sent flying back towards the wall the instant he got within ten feet of Friezell. He was back in just a second, going full with Kaioken. Friezell sidestepped his quick arrival, driving a knee into his gut and backhanding him straight back into the hole in the wall he had left behind a few seconds ago. _He's just as strong as I thought he might be, looks like I'll have to transform for this guy to beat him convincingly. Oh well, it was going to come to that anyway. He would be a decent test for staying in my regular form though, transforming might be a little excessive._

"Cell - or Frieza - or whoever you are, I disqualify you! Rule Number 3, paragraph 7B clearly states that no one from Hell can participate in any event being held above Snake Way!" Grand Kai announced.

"I don't care about your silly tournament! I'm here for a challenge! Now which one of your pitiful specimens is going to deliver?" Friezell asked aloud. After seeing Pikkon get beaten in two hits, no one from the crowd of fighters wanted to raise their hands. Dabura still looked like he was going to take him on, but then glanced over at me and shook his head slightly, as if to tell me not to jump into the ring right away. Then he glanced back at Grand Kai, who was still fuming.

"Grand Kai, let him remain for the tournament. It may give these fighters up here some...inspiration!" Dabura suggested. Grand Kai grimaced under his heavy beard but nodded his approval.

"Now then, since you came all this way for a challenger that could match up with you, perhaps I could let the boy beat you now. However, I don't think your newly discovered abilities could even match him on a bad day! Only when you beat me can you have him!" Dabura shouted, his red aura emerging.

"If that's the way it has to be, old-timer. I will get my match one way or another!" Friezell declared, his golden aura rising to challenge the red one. _Oh ho, it's on now!_

_-- _

Dabura took the offensive first and charged Friezell, a bit of a surprising move to me. Friezell kept a tight grin and blocked his incoming punch pretty easily, dodging the next kick and phasing out a moment later. Dabura was in his face when he chose to reappear, throwing very aggressive punches aimed for his head. Friezell did a good job at deflecting and blocking them, then returning the effort. Dabura's tactics changed to purely defensive in a heartbeat, and he barely had trouble switching to nothing but blocking and dodging, almost as if he expected and/or planned it. Friezell then began a dance like rhythm of punches and kicks that followed a familiar pattern of movement. It wasn't the attacks themselves that looked familiar, just the style of movement and the way they were thrown. Friezell also shifted around this style a lot. It looked like Vegeta was fighting Dabura for a moment, and then it suddenly looked like Goku was out there. It shifted between those two and an unfamiliar pattern that was likely Frieza's as he kept up the effort against Dabura. _So that's how he fights...in close-quarters anyway. Long range will probably be a little easier to follow. Dunno why he's bothering to fight Dabura head on like this though. It just doesn't work when he does this. _

Dabura didn't have any real trouble keeping up with the movement changes, and didn't throw one punch or kick once he went on the defensive. I took note that Friezell's right side became very vulnerable when he switched from Frieza's movement back to Goku's, becoming just a bit off balance. It made sense because Frieza's style appeared to be more brute force while Goku's style was balanced with speed. He would punch at Dabura ten or twelve times before spinning around left with a kick and shifted back to Goku's style, often overpowering it and leaving a split second but clear opening to duck the kick and let him have it. I saw it pretty easily at this speed, and I was sure Dabura saw it too. It went by about eight times and Dabura never jumped on it, making me wonder if he actually noticed. Friezell kept trying the same pattern over and over in obvious hope to wear down Dabura and nail him. And for the most part it was nearly flawless in execution, except for the one weak spot I had analyzed. Both fighters were obviously very patient and very confident in their abilities, otherwise I felt that someone would have backed off and thrown some sort of energy wave by now. Dabura began to slow down just a bit with his blocks, but I sensed he wasn't at his limit by any means, meaning he was up to something. Friezell sped up just a bit, taking what appeared to be the bait.

"What are they doing? It doesn't seem like they're getting anywhere with this slugfest, what gives?" Fasha asked.

"It's Friezell who isn't getting anywhere right now, he's been trying the same pattern over and over again, and Dabura has been blocking with just enough speed to fool him into thinking he's wearing him down. I think Dabura is about to catch his weak spot once he comes around to it again. I expect this fight will really get going after that. As you probably know, head-on attacks against Dabura don't work so well," I said in a low tone while the two villains beat on each other.

"Yeah, but I thought it was something I was doing wrong, I didn't think it was just because of him. And there's a weak point in that pattern? He keeps shifting around from Vegeta - Kakarot - and what looks to be Frieza's movements - and with that speed he's looking pretty good from here. Are you sure about all that?" she asked again. I nodded, pulling a finger to my mouth to end her discussion before one of the participants listened in. Dabura indeed was up to something, and when Friezell came around with a familiar set of punches, he struck. Right when Friezell got his last punch blocked, Dabura launched at him suddenly, clocking his wide-open face with a left hook when he tried to spin. The blow knocked dazed the fused fighter and he stumbled for a second, all the opening that Dabura needed to pummel him. Friezell was the victim of several dozen punches and kicks over the span of five seconds or so before being knocked across the ring. Dabura didn't launch after him, instead electing to stop and observe what would transpire next.

"Wow, good call. I saw it once he attacked. How did you keep up with it so well?" Fasha asked, knowing that I was nowhere near powered up enough to see it that well normally.

"Let's just say being able to control more than one energy proves wonders on your sensing abilities - all of them in fact," I explained. I scanned Friezell's energy, noting that it hadn't dropped much, if at all. _So he was just testing Dabura as well._

_-- _

"**Are you done playing possum yet?"** Dabura asked, arms crossed while Friezell stayed face down on the ring surface for over a span of fifteen seconds or so. Grand Kai had gotten to a count of seven and he still hadn't moved. When he hit nine, Friezell quickly got to his feet and wiped his bleeding lip clean.

"I seem to have underrated your abilities, demon. Shame on me," he said, the grin returning.

"Is that what you were doing this whole time? I thought you were just trying to throw your weight around like you have in your previous two fights. Rest assured, you will stay on the ground a lot longer by trying that with me!" Dabura insured, slipping back into stance.

"Then perhaps it's time to really start this battle. No more warming up!" Friezell declared, dropping back for a move that I knew very well. Dabura stood his ground and kept his focus, watching what Friezell may do.

"Hey, isn't that...?" Fasha asked right away.

I glanced at King Kai, "You guys might want to take cover," I warned, backing up just a few steps with caution.

"KamehameHAAA!" Friezell uttered, firing the massive blast straight at Dabura. Through the blinding light, I watched Dabura's movement, or lack thereof. He didn't even budge, but then I sensed a Chi surge come from him, and the Kamehameha exploded five feet in front of the demon. The light from the ki explosion enveloped the arena, and sending quite a few pieces of the ring in every direction.

"He didn't even try to get out of the way!" Fasha said in surprise.

"He didn't need to," I said.

"That makes no sense! Frieza's - er - Cell's - er, whoever that is! Their power level is high enough to be a serious threat to even you! How could he stand up to that?" Videl said, trying to figure out what I meant.

"Stop panicking. First of all, Dabura is no ordinary fighter. And both of them are still holding back. I seriously doubt Dabura would allow himself to be beaten in one big blast with no effort to dodge it. Don't allow what you're sensing to overwhelm you," I explained as the light cleared. Dabura was indeed still there, and not even scratched as he floated just a few feet above the ring. He looked very focused now, and I sensed his Chi energy rotating slightly around him in a tightly wrapped field. The ring below was pretty smashed, leaving what was likely to be the first of many craters. Friezell looked suddenly flustered, as to how and why Dabura might still be there. He didn't let it bother him much though, and jumped into the air with another familiar looking technique ready to go in his fingertips.

"Death Beam Cannon!" he shouted, lighting up the area with a bright pink light now. The beam spiraled towards Dabura, who once again did not move. The beam suddenly shot upwards once it touched Dabura's energy field, and I spotted a red shield around him for just a moment. _Ah, so that's why it never touched him._ Friezell looked unimpressed as he landed, chuckling slightly though.

"The great demon king hides behind a shield...Why am I not surprised?" he taunted.

It was Dabura's turn to laugh. "Whatever wins the battle is the correct tactic to use, and this is more useful to me than just a shield!" The shield's energy then collected at one point in front of him and spat out a high speed red blast that had Friezell's name written all over it. The fused villain was caught way off guard with this and took it in the chest, or in this case, through the chest. I stared at the hole, seeing the crowd on the other side as they groaned slightly.

"Whoa, folks! This match just turned into a blood-letting! Let's not let this get too out of control!" the MC announced. Both fighters ignored him as expected, and the crowd groaned some more when Friezell regenerated himself.

Once he was restored, he jumped back into the air and began firing a long string of ki blasts. "Rapid Fire!" They hit Dabura's shield and deflected off in various directions quickly, hitting the stadium walls and some people in the stands for the most part. I dodged a few of them while the Kais huddled just below the ring, trying not to get hit, something the Grand Kai's chair wasn't so lucky with. After about thirty seconds, Friezell stopped his ineffective attack, watching Dabura's unmoving form. Dabura then took his own turn and used his shield to send out several dozen red Chi balls directed at Friezell, who dodged aside and flew away from them. I kept an eye on Dabura's body movement, but there was none at all. _So, this shielding technique is purely mental and requires no physical movement. It's all energy, wow. It's almost the perfect defense because Friezell can't even touch him and he is kept at a distance. Not to mention he took all of his attack patterns earlier and didn't get hit once. No wonder I had so much trouble fighting him before, even if he was sandbagging then._

Friezell decided to test all of these theories by phasing in and out, trying to trip up Dabura's aim in the skies and keep him busy. Once done, he fired off his own string of blasts while moving, hoping that Dabura wouldn't notice. Dabura didn't have to because they bounced off his shield as well, even while he was using it to fire off more of his own. I sensed Friezell's frustration and he soon stopped in the skies and powered up a lot. Dabura stopped firing pretty quickly when he must have felt the power surge. A golden aura came alive once again and I sensed a great deal of energy pouring into some sort of attack. It quickly became apparent that Friezell was going to try to vaporize Dabura at any cost, the extremely large yellow and red death ball gave that away.

"He's going to try and wipe Dabura completely out and probably take the crowd with him with that blast!" I warned as we all backed away from the ring.

"No, don't do it!" King Kai shouted upwards, to no avail. I sensed Dabura's shield drop, and his power flowed normally as he powered up now.

"Ha! You actually expect to defend against an attack like this? Then by all means - ! Let's see your precious shield save you now!" Friezell shouted down before dropping the bomb. I growled a bit and started to power up just in case I needed to do something about it, standing in front of Fasha and Videl. Dabura suddenly starred at me as I did so, shaking his head as if to tell me no. Once I stopped my power up in surprise, I felt his red Chi power spread past me and then upward. It happened all over the arena as the death ball stopped halfway down, pushing against a red energy barrier that was made by the demon. Dabura's arms were spread outward and up, clearly having to use more effort now. It was like there was a trampoline of energy that the death ball was pushing against, and having a bit of success. I sensed Dabura's power surge to its maximum and then strengthen the shield just a bit, stopping the death ball where it was, but nothing more. I noticed Friezell was doing nothing to press the issue, as if waiting for Dabura to run out of power. Unfortunately, that was exactly what was happening and Dabura's body began to shake as his power drained slowly.

"Aw crap, he's going to give out soon, and when he does were all in trouble!" I announced, glancing at the Kais, who wouldn't budge. The Grand Kai was only observing still, not doing a thing about the potential danger.

"Boy!" Dabura shouted. I dashed toward the ring as Dabura began to sink to his knees, but still holding up the shield effort.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I can't hold that attack back for much longer, and when it detonates, it will destroy just about everyone here, except for you maybe. I don't think I need to remind you of what may occur if that happens, let's just say none of your friends will exist. You need to stop the attack before it breaches the shield!" he shouted out.

"Any outside interference will result in a disqualification! I will not allow it!" the Grand Kai suddenly announced.

"Does it look like he cares about the rules? He's about to blow everyone here to kingdom come!" I shouted back. The Grand Kai didn't answer, but King Kai jumped to my side.

"He's right! Friezell will do it - no bluff. Both of his previous selves did so without hesitation! If that attack lands, all of us might be wiped out!" he told his leader. Again, Grand Kai didn't answer, and I got sick of waiting for him to make up his mind.

"Fine, just sit there! Dabura, get ready to drop your shield once I fire!" I announced, powering up quickly. Before I hit the Super Mystic barrier, he stopped me.

"No need for you to use a large attack just yet boy. Concentrate a low level Chi attack and throw it straight at the ball. I would do it myself, but my shield must stay up to block against the explosion it will release. I still believe I have enough energy for that!" he explained. I frowned a bit, trying to figure out why to not send a big attack, and voiced my opinion.

"Wait a sec, if your shield isn't making it explode, what will a weak attack do? Only a strong one could possibly make that thing go away!" I argued just as I saw and sensed Pikkon fly up there, Kaio-ken going strong. He quickly adjusted his movements and fired his thunder flash move straight at the incoming death ball. Pikkon's energy drained pretty fast as he put forth all of his effort to stop the attack. I grimaced slightly while seeing it do absolutely nothing, proving Dabura's theory to be correct.

"Another lesson for you, boy, is to understand the attacks made against you from your enemies. I have seen Frieza and Cell fight before and thus I know how this attack can be taken care of. An equal or slightly weaker attack will only push against that thing and delay it. A stronger one will force it away, but it is a waste of energy unless you take your opponent out. However, a weak enough attack will cause it to detonate instead if it is aimed right at the center!" he yelled back.

"Oh, all right then," I muttered, gathering energy. I fused a small amount of ki and Psi together, making a green chi ball and throwing it straight up into the colliding forces above, "Pikkon - MOVE!" I watched as he quit his useless effort and dodged aside as the ball came through. It penetrated the shield and then went right into the death ball. Nothing happened. I waited for five seconds before glaring at Dabura, who was down to his knees and shaking badly.

"It was too lacking in concentration to be effective, and too strong as well. Focus your attack into a very tight and potent stream, use the maximum efficiency for the smallest amount of power!" he said. _What the hell am I going to use to do that without increasing the power?_ I sensed the struggle above begin to decline as Dabura's energy was nearly gone. _Well the only technique I have that doesn't involve a whole lot of power is my feedback ability and the sword. He said it had to be a Chi attack, so the sword will have to do, guess I'll just throw it like a spear, wouldn't be the first time._ I quickly drew up my Psi sword, adding the right amount of ki to it and stretching it outward even thinner than usual, making something similar to a spear, only it was bright green.

"Yes, that should do it!" he gasped out as his breath came short. I shrugged and aimed right for the center of the death ball before rearing back and throwing it like a javelin. It soared through the shield and into the death ball. Almost instantly, the ball fell apart just before it blew up, spreading out in every direction except for downwards. The light cleared quickly, revealing a few ashy remains of the asteroids above falling harmlessly down. Dabura was on one knee and breathing very hard as the smoke and dust began to clear, his shield successful at keeping the explosion at bay. His power was nearly gone though, and Friezell had barely broken a sweat by the feel of it. He simply out muscled Dabura in the energy department with one swift strike, rather it hit or not. Friezell slowly descended back into the arena as Pikkon landed behind me.

"My best attack didn't even budge his!" he said in astonishment, "How did your weak attack work?"

"Because yours was too strong, I guess. Ask me about it later," I said, paying attention to what may transpire in the ring.

"If another bomb like that goes off, you will be disqualified for putting everyone's existence at risk!" Grand Kai warned, finally saying something about it.

"Butt out! I'm taking over this tournament and I expect a worthy challenger, this one was a waste of my time!" he declared as he landed beside Dabura's prone form. He kicked him in the side once, unblocked, and Dabura was in the air instantly by the impact. One double hand smash later he was in the ring again, not moving a whole lot.

"You may count him out now. I'm sure he won't be getting up!" Friezell said, prompting the Kai to start the ten count. Dabura got up at six, though not very easily.

"You will not bully your way through the next match, the boy is going to wipe the floor with you!" Dabura announced, apparently hyping my presence up.

"You are just so stubborn to see how wrong you are! You will learn soon, demon!" Friezell snapped back, kicking Dabura across the chin. This sent Dabura out of the ring finally, putting him into the grass. I was stunned to say the least at the overall match, I figured that Dabura would move around a lot more than he did. Then it occurred to me that he may have gotten beat up on purpose, I recalled him saying not to ask him to throw the match. I declined to ask as he slowly got to his hands and knees and brushed himself off, groaning all the way. Friezell didn't leave the ring, even though the match was over.

"Um, Mr. Frieza - or Cell, whichever. Can you please leave the ring so we can get the next match started?" the MC asked as the crowd became restless.

"Does that mushroom head of yours have any ears? I am taking over this show and I will not leave until I have had a decent challenge out of your so-called great warriors! Who here will challenge me?" he shouted aloud, inciting the crowd a bit.

"I will fight him!" Pikkon said from behind me.

I put a hand up to block his path, "Please tell me you aren't that stupid! Your best attack didn't do anything against his, and he already sent you flying from the ring a few times. He's all mine," I said as I walked forward and jumped into the ring. Friezell grinned as he probably expected this.

"So, are you ready to give me my fight now boy? Or do you need a lunch break first?" he asked mockingly.

"Please be careful!" Videl warned.

"Don't worry, I'll put this chump in his place," I said with confidence. I noticed the Grand Kai talking to the MC briefly before the microphone came back out.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have just been informed that the Grand Kai has disqualified both Friezell and Verto for fighting out of turn and for interference. This would make Pikkon the champion by default, but the rules state that one cannot win the title out of a technicality like this. But the Grand Kai has also ordered a special match between Friezell and Verto to begin right away, and the winner will re-qualify and fight against Pikkon in order to win the championship!" the MC announced. _Okay, I get the DQ for helping to prevent a disaster, that's wonderful gratitude for ya. Oh well, I wasn't that interested anyway. I'll be out of here before he would give me any lessons anyway._

"That isn't fair!" Fasha roared at the kai, who didn't flinch at this.

"_Fasha, forget about it. I could care less!_" I thought quickly.

"_Still isn't right, good luck!_" she answered.

"Let's skip the formalities, the special tricks and the warm-ups! I want a good fight!" Friezell said as he dropped into a very Goku-like stance. _Heh, well that's fine. I don't need the feedback technique or the invisibility to beat him anyway!_

"A good fight you'll have - and you'll lose it!" I said, powering up.

**Power levels:**

**Dabura: 400,000,000**

**Friezell: 500,000,000**

**Pikkon w/ Kaioken and Thunder Flash: 435,000,000**

**A/n: Okay, some of you are slightly confused at this I imagine (ahem, WDG). Well be sure to re-read the line that Dabura might have gotten beat up on purpose. Besides, I gotta have the current main villain in there to fight the current main hero, otherwise there wouldn't have been much of a point to fuse Frieza and Cell together in the first place now would there? Those of you that knew it would eventually be Verto and Friezell, good job.**

**Betting time again, fire 'em out! Remember, more response might bring a faster update. Who is going on to the final match, Verto or Friezell? And if either one has anything left, will they be able to take down Pikkon? Or will they simply take each other out of the equation with their own battle, stay tuned to find out!**

**Next time on DBV: Friezell and Verto begin their match, and Friezell is intent on making Verto draw out his full power and consistently plays with the young Saiyan. He soon finds out though, playing with dynamite can cause a rather painful explosion!**


	10. Verto vs Friezell

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**A/n: Okay, here's your pre-warning. This fight is going to start a bit slow as Verto is going to be testing some of his newer abilities and won't be cranking up his power right away. Trust me though, you won't want to turn away once it starts to pick up. Let's just say that everyone is in for a surprise or two.**

**Chapter 9: Verto vs. Friezell**

I opted not to go all the way to Super Mystic level just yet, wanting to at least try to beat him without it. One would think that would be suicide, but having two differing energies that produced a multitude of techniques gave me more options. Fusing my energy to Chi and going Super Mystic would reduce those options, but would give me more power. I figured I would eventually visit that plateau, but why not try it out first? After all it was a tournament, except for the fact that I was already disqualified. I did however power up all the way with both energies separately. I wasn't that stupid.

Friezell looked disappointed though, "Aren't you going to ascend to your maximum power level? You haven't a prayer against me in your current form!"

"Is that a fact?" I said, dropping into my own stance. _Well, I know any actual injuries will be nullified by the regeneration, so cutting off arms with my sword is pointless as is overpowered blasts, though it would provide much needed distractions. For him to lose, I must get him out of the ring and on the ground. I doubt I'll make him give up or keep him knocked out without going all out myself._

"I guess you're just like Gohan...I have to make you angry to have any sort of challenge. Oh well. I should have expected it," he said, shaking his head.

"I'm not like Gohan was when you faced him before. I'm a whole lot stronger than that and I can control my emotions!" I declared, still waiting for him to make the first move.

"Funny, you look just like him," he said with a slight chuckle.

"I guess we see the same barber," I said, noticing he was already trying to get under my skin.

"That must mean that you share the same weakness of not acting when you should. Poor little Gohan just couldn't hurt a fly, and once I actually got him in the mood he didn't even destroy me when he should have. That cost him his father's life," he said, unfolding his arms.

"I didn't see your death ball do anything to the crowd, and last I checked this was a contest, not a fight to the death - besides, death wouldn't mean very much right now," I said with a frown.

"I suppose we should quit boring these fans then, or at least I will. Since you're not going to give me what I want, I will just have to take it!" he shouted suddenly, launching across the ring. Luckily I saw him twitch before he came at me, and used that brief instant to dodge to the side. His ki level flared strongly then, and I got a much better read on his power level. It was below mine at Super Mystic, about ten percent lower by my guess. I frowned as he sped by and put on the brakes. _That means I'd have to transform to beat him noticeably. I guess he really got a lot out of Buu's power. Or perhaps he was training with it a bit more to adjust. He's had a few days to get used to it._ I barely had time to blink before he changed direction and flew at me again. Despite his higher speed and power level, I could see his through his sudden movement and dodged aside again before he could counter. _But it seems that my enhanced senses are still paying off._ It only took about five more times of overzealous attacks before he got fed up with it and stopped.

"How could you react that fast? Your power level is too low to take me on! Explain!" Friezell demanded.

"Sorry if you didn't like it. Not my fault you were too slow! I can see through your movements before you even make them!" I answered slyly.

"Argh! Your little tricks are already annoying me!" he said, his aura reappearing. I was about to make another cocky remark, but I had to dodge a sliding kick before I could open my mouth again. He followed it up with a familiar looking pattern that he had used on Dabura. And predictably, the weak spot I had noticed before came around as I dodged the rest of his attacks. I had wanted to block most of them, it would have been easier, but with his higher power level it may do unwanted damage that could build up over time. I allowed him to follow the pattern through as if I hadn't seen it, but unlike Dabura, I didn't wait ten times through. _Heh, I know what I'll do to beat him easily. _I surrounded Friezell with an invisible and trace amount of Psi, not wanting to get his attention to a sneaky attack just yet. While I dodged his attacks, I slowly placed thick fields of Psi around him and the air turned cold suddenly. He didn't seem to notice, but his attacks did slow down greatly as I did this. I phased out once he was slowed enough and completed the Stasis field instantly. The low gasp from most of the crowd was enough of a hint for me to know they hadn't seen anything like that before. That didn't stop the mushroom dude from talking about it though

"Incredible, the young and talented Verto has turned Friezell into a block of ice! How did he do that?" the MC asked as the whole crows murmured quite a bit. I sensed the golden ki flare once Friezell realized what happened, and the ice started to melt after about ten seconds, prompting me to start charging the next attack.

"Galic Gun!" I shouted, firing a quick but potent ki beam at the block of ice. It shattered just as my red beam arrived, and Friezell was caught way off guard and sent flying backwards into the arena wall, where he stayed imbedded.

"Wow, what a surprise attack! But keep in mind folks, the contestant must touch the ground before they are declared the loser!" the MC announced. _Yeah, thanks for bringing that up while he's still sitting there, argh! Oh well, that caught him off guard nicely. Next time he'll lose the match. Then again, that Galic Gun shouldn't have laid him out like that, not at this level. So much for no warming up_, I thought with a frown. It didn't take very long for Friezell to shake off the effects and hover back towards the ring, but he sure looked a lot more cautious now.

"How did you do that? I couldn't even sense it!" he said in a calmer tone.

"A little too tricky for you? I told you that fighting me was fruitless! Besides, what you can't sense may hurt you," I said, dropping back into my stance.

"How pathetic! You have to resort to your little tricks in order to beat a warrior of my caliber? Surely you can do better!" he said, sounding disappointed.

"Get used to disappointment, and it isn't too pathetic when said little trick nearly beat you without too much effort," I fired back, making him rethink his words for a moment.

"You have an excellent point, and now I will make sure you give me effort! I want to fight a real Saiyan, not a weak child! I think you'll get my drift if you dodge the next attack!" he stated before dropping back into stance, arms pulled back. I sensed his energy flare and it went straight to his hands.

"If this hits the stadium, well, I think you know what will happen! Ka...me…" he began. _Great, he's so intent to get me to full power that he's going to endanger everyone else here!_ _Well, I could make part of his wish come true and just use his own energy against him by absorbing it. That will take the risk off of the crowd for the moment, just blocking or deflecting it may not._

"Ha...me…" he continued his slow charge, definitely bringing out the full power of the attack. I quickly gathered my Psi sword and held it in front of me, ready for the assault before putting my plan into action.

"HAAA!" The huge blue beam came roaring out of his hands and hit my sword almost right away. I was pushed back quite a few feet before I dug it and pushed back. I turned my sword just slightly and stuck it into the power ball forming in front of me. Then I pulled on the ki inside of it, watching it flow into my sword and turn it gold. I thought I had a good grip on the situation, but the pure amount of ki energy that he was using became a bit more than I could handle. My sword became unstable, as if I was letting it take in too much energy. I felt that it could soon explode in my hands, and that wouldn't be a good thing.

_Argh, what a mistake this was! I can't simply deflect it because it could hit the crowd, but how am I going to get out of this mess? It's not Chi energy like the Spirit bomb was, so it will do me no good in my higher form. Oh, wait a sec! My evil half took advantage of this trick by powering up with the extra ki from Vegeta's attack! I don't have the Psi energy I need to balance it for the Super Mystic form, but I know my body can handle that amount of ki power flowing through me. I can just absorb it and use it as I like and still leave me with all of my options. Hell, it would shut him up about powering up as well! Yeah, I'll do that!_

With that decided, I pulled the massive amount of ki in the sword to my arms and felt the energy flow through me quickly. The instability in the sword reduced and I was able to finish absorbing Friezell's attack before it exploded. A golden aura went up as I finished taking in the ki energy. It was more than I expected, but it added a lot to my pool of energy, plenty to increase my power and speed.

"You can absorb my attacks as well? What are you, some Saiyan android hybrid that Gero created just to toy with me?" Friezell asked.

"Heh, no. It's just another ability I have that you wouldn't be able to handle," I said, shaking a bit from all the extra power I had inside of me. _Releasing a big blast to reduce this extra tension might be bad. I'll just power up and burn it off that way!_ When I powered up though, something triggered a familiar state and the golden aura reemerged. I found it difficult to push my power level up despite all this energy I had. I instantly got a little flustered and angry with this sudden malfunction, but it didn't last. The instant my darker emotions got involved, the ki came flowing back out and I pushed the barrier I sensed until it broke. Then the golden aura became intertwined with golden bangs in front of my face and quite a bit of ki lightning pushing through me. _Ok, I didn't expect that._ Apparently neither did the rest of the stadium, but it didn't stop a low hush and quite a few gasps once the wind died down. Friezell looked stunned as well, more like he was having a bad case of flashbacks. I quickly took the power as high as it would go without using any bit of Psi, but also noting that I could use it with no problem. I recognized the form, though hearing Fasha's mental shouts of "_Wow, you ascended!" _were pretty good hints. I glanced over at King Kai for a possible answer, who looked dumbfounded. I was a Super Saiyan 2, and yet was dazed that I could even do it. My golden aura sparkled a bit, as there were traces of Psi blended in with it. I quickly gauged my power level, noting it was still lower than Friezell's, and way lower than my Super Mystic form. Power level wise, I was probably about equal to what it would be if I were to use the Kaioken attack in normal form, not in terms of Psi and Chi. _This will be a nice way to use all my techniques and be able to keep up with him easier._

"How did you do that? I was to believe you could not transform into a Super Saiyan any longer?" Friezell demanded another answer, though I had none to give now.

"That's what I thought to, but it looks like I can. It's your fault for threatening the others around here - but for what it's worth, thanks for making me aware of it," I said with a slight grin. He matched the stance that I lowered into, and I gauged my new options for this unexpected turn of events. _This power-up will last as long as I don't burn it up with a big blast. Considering whom I'm facing, that's unlikely. I will be able to fight him more evenly and might even bash him around some with my enhanced senses, but he's still stronger right now. Maybe faster if he takes it up a notch. To beat him for sure, I'll have to power all the way up eventually, or knock him around with a Chi blast. High power ki beams won't beat him if he doesn't allow it, even if I go all out. And I've already decided that I don't need to beat him with the feedback technique, he's already seen it anyway. He won't just sit still for me to give him a good assault until I'm up high enough to beat the shit out of him. I should use this extra power constructively and wear him out with either a long stretch of a battle, or a very quick assault. I still need to save some for Pikkon...he isn't a pushover. But how should I do this?_

Friezell must have noticed that I might have been distracted in thought, because I saw him tense up just before he came flying at me at a much faster speed than before. I ducked his knife hand just in time and punched upwards almost right away, catching his body and sending him flying high. I quickly noticed that he seemed stunned, and I felt him lower his power level on purpose.

_Hmmm. He knows I can keep up with him better than before - he must have figured out what happened and that this power won't last that long. He looks wide open for a big blast attack, but he lowered his power level on purpose, as if he's trying to catch me off guard. I better not act on this opening._ I did send a very low power ki blast up at him, seeing him dodge out of the way the instant it arrived. He had a sharp grin on his face as he descended to the ring, landing with his arms crossed.

"This might be more enjoyable than my battles with Vegeta. At least your brain capacity holds more meaning than your pride. I am somewhat surprised you didn't take that little opening and attack...I certainly would have. Isn't bloodthirsty ruthlessness the mark of you monkeys?" he asked. I frowned a bit at the primate remark, but let it go without reacting like any other Saiyan might have.

"Just goes to show you that you have a lot to learn before you judge me. I am not Vegeta or Gohan, so do me a favor and quit comparing me to others. Vegeta would tear you a new asshole if he were here right now. If you're done playing games, I'd like to get this over with," I said with a deep scowl.

"So you _are_ a pacifist like Goku or Gohan...only fighting when you have to. Or are you too weak to take advantage of an opening?" Friezell answered, still trying to get under my skin.

"Are you going to talk all day long about who you've faced in the past? Geez, you'll win by knockout when I fall asleep," I said, returning the favor. A quick frown came to his face, making his failed plan obvious. He phased out in an instant, and I sensed him move around behind me. I quickly jumped forward and spun in the air, blocking an incoming punch all but easily. His speed had increased again, but it felt topped out. His power was at the maximum I had sensed before. I glided above the ring backwards as he chased after at the same speed. I quickly ran out of ring below and flew quickly into the air. Friezell followed up quickly, and I devised a plan while he gave chase. _Okay, he's a bit more serious now, but he still might be holding back just a bit, but not much. I need to drop a big Chi attack on him if I'm going to win anytime soon, but I'm still not that good at forming them without being at top form. Couple that with the fact that it will take too long for a big one unless he's distracted. Guess I need to slice him up just like I did Borgos._ That decided, I formed my Psi sword, twirling it about as I stopped in midair and hovered. Friezell quickly halted, seeing what I had created and recognizing it quickly.

"You think I'm foolish enough to give you more power?" he asked with a grin. _He may react too fast if I simply try the same trick of blast and slice. I'll just try to hit him with it and spear him. While he's regenerating, I'll charge up a big one._ I used my other hand to send a weak ki blast at him and once he started to react to it, I added more energy to the sword before hurling it at him as hard as I could like it was a javelin. I wasn't exactly sure at first glance what actually happened for the next few seconds, but it was purely accidental - and also a great asset to observe when a new attack graces your senses. My sword flew in even faster than my ki blast and actually hit my ill-timed blast right in front of Friezell's swinging arm. I sensed a huge energy surge just as the sword pierced the ki blast, noting that I used nearly the same amount of energy for both without realizing it. The surge did not come from Friezell - it came from the blast. A bright green flash went off almost immediately, with a deafening sound and a decent breeze from it. The area the new Chi ball affected was relatively small, but the sudden fusion of energy was a lot an atomic bomb going off from the barrel of a pistol. The core of the sudden explosion was purely green. About ten feet out it lessened in intensity. Once past twenty feet there was no visible energy distortion, as if the attack never happened, which was very unlike a standard energy explosion. The blast and its small shockwave liberated Friezell of a good chunk of his body and one of his arms while sending him towards the ring with high velocity. _Now that was cool. And pretty effective, considering how much power I didn't use. Lesson for the future, quick fusion of energy outside the body generates plenty of power even with low amounts of energy. Man, I think the energy output was five times higher than it should have been! Hell, ten times stronger than the ki blast alone. Gotta come up with a name for that later._ Friezell crashed into the ring and left a decent crater while he lay out of it in the center of it.

"Wow, what a surprise attack! I've never seen anything like it!" the MC announced as I dropped down and landed near the crater. _Yeah, you and me both. _The Grand Kai started counting, and I heard a small bundle of cheers, but most of the crowd was still in shock from what happened. _Heh, guess I'll call it the Shock Cannon, it seems to leave that effect on bystanders, nevermind the opponent._ I sensed Friezell's energy finally start to stir a bit once the seven count hit. He sprang up and landed on his feet, still trying to rework himself. New cells quickly filled in and gave him a new abdominal section and a restored left arm. The frown on his face gave it away as he caught his breath. Not only was he caught off guard, but my attack had done more than just burn away a few body parts.

"Interesting attack, not only could I not sense all of it...but the energy output was minimal despite the damage you caused me. I must know how you did it." Friezell began stretching out his new arm.

"To be honest, that's a brand new one. Didn't even know I could do it," I answered, ready to begin the next assault. His power level had dropped a little bit, but he was still stronger at the moment. He knew now though that I could hurt him without going all out. _No way he's going to give me another round of easy shots. He must know that his toying around is only hurting his chances of winning. This is about to get nasty...I may have to implement Dabura's defensive tactic of wearing him down and only attacking when I see an opening._

**Power levels:**

**Verto: 300,000,000; SS2: 450,000,000**

**Verto's Shock Cannon: 400,000,000**

**Friezell: 540,000,000**

**A/n: The Super Saiyan 2 idea was purely accidental when I came to it. Figured I should at least have a way for Verto to use extra-absorbed ki other than a big blast. And how about that deadly Shock Cannon? I need some props for coming up with that idea. Round 1 is over, and Verto clearly had the advantage while Friezell was foolishly trying to toy with him. Now Round 2 is about to get fired up! Who walks away the winner?**


	11. The Victor

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 10: The Victor**

I figured Friezell was strong and quite proficient at fighting - but damn, he was good. It was all I could do to keep up with his attacks now that he had decided to actually fight at his own level. Hell, he would have certainly given me a fight at the Super Mystic level. He had hit me a few times over the next five to ten minutes of brawling, but I was able to dodge and block a lot of his hits. I was unable to attack back initially though with his first big burst of speed, and it didn't show much of a sign of slowing down. My senses were fast enough, but my body wasn't right now. I didn't want to concede to have to power all the way up to Super Mystic, I still felt I could beat him without resorting to that. He halted his assault for a few seconds while King Kai was busily shouting encouragement to me.

"Come on Verto, focus! You can beat this washed up chump!" he called out.

"Heh, Goku really learned some of his best attacks from that old fool? Makes you wonder how this universe works sometimes," Friezell chuckled slightly.

"I seem to recall several villains that sounded like that before Goku put them to rest," I said slyly. He responded by flying straight at me incredibly fast. I blocked with a rising forearm before blocking his kick with my knee. I ducked down and tried to uppercut him, but he phased out as soon as I rebounded. I found him behind my back and spun to deflect his fist. I missed the block on his next roundhouse kick and it struck my side. I winced slightly but flip-kicked upward in response, catching him in the face and sending him backwards. He stopped there, rubbing a small blood trickle off and showing off that wicked grin again. _Damnit, I don't have enough speed even with this power level. The only way I'm going to wear him down is to risk a big blast, but he isn't likely going to sit still again. I have to increase my speed or decrease his. How do I get faster without powering up?_ I noticed that Pikkon was standing on the opposite side of the ring, almost directly behind Friezell. I soon as I saw him, I took note that his training garb was still off. _Oh of course, this heavy stuff I'm wearing may not feel that heavy, but it is sure to slow me down some. Losing the boots won't make much of a difference, plus I'd rather not tear up my feet on this busted ring. The shirt and wristbands though would take quite a load off in this gravity._

"Ready to continue this match?" Friezell asked, as if we had called timeout.

"Hold on, I need to lose some weight here," I said, sliding my arms out of the green uniform.

"Humph, I agree, you are too slow. Perhaps you should train more before you go back to earth, you could certainly use it!" he said, arms crossed again.

"That's not what I meant exactly. It's true, your faster right now, but I wonder what will happen after I dump this," I said, taking the shirt off. I dropped it to the side, watching it plummet and leave quite a dent in the ring. I felt noticeably lighter once I slipped my arms back into the light green top, and I stretched just a bit to readjust. I also took the wristbands off and tossed them with the shirt over to the side of the ring, getting the Kais to take cover in the process.

"Much better," I said, rotating and stretching my arms a little more.

"Uh oh folks. It seems Pikkon wasn't the only one around here wearing weighted clothes! How can these incredible fighters bear such weight and go toe-to-toe like this?" the MC rang out. Friezell had dropped his arms to his sides again and bore a deep frown. I let my energy flow a little more now, noticing a bit of a boost now that I had shed the extra weight.

"You think that tiny bit of weight will make a difference! You are sadly mistaken!" he said, dashing at me again. I blocked the incoming punch much easier and quicker than before, flashing Friezell a sudden grin when he realized how much of a difference the shirt made. I dropped down to sweep kick his legs, seeing him jump just in time and phasing out to attack him. I flew around behind and saw him still ascending and looking down at my afterimage as I dropped towards him. Just as the image vanished, I nailed him in the back with a flying sidekick. He flew forward and started to spin, ki flaring. I phased out again, watching him fire a ki blast volley at a fake target. I kicked him in the back of the neck an instant later before charging in with a punch to the face when he turned again. His ki flared again and his speed increased enough to start blocking what I was throwing at him, but he was certainly having trouble now. As I moved my head side to side to avoid his punches and blocking his kicks with my hands, he tried to head butt me. Being small has its advantages when your enemy has to bend down to hit you effectively. One duck and an uppercut later, I had him floating and stunned in mid air. I quickly flew above him and hit a double axe handle, sending him into the remnants of the ring. I landed cautiously, waiting for him to emerge. I sensed him stir in anger before shooting back out and flying high into the sky, charging his power all the way. _Great, here comes a big one._

"Hey look at that folks, it looks like Friezell is hightailing it out of here!" the MC announced.

"Wrong," I said quickly.

"Let's see you stop this! And go ahead and try to absorb it, your body won't be able to handle it! Kamehame…" he chanted loudly, gathering more than enough power to prove his point. I powered up further, seeing my sparkling aura shoot up before I gathered it in my hands. _Well, it won't be the most powerful version of this blast with only a ki charge, but it should be enough as long as he doesn't throw too much into his beam. At the very worst I'll burn up the extra power._

"Super Galic Gun!" I shouted just as he finished his chant. A bright gold beam flew out of my hands to my slight surprise, but I didn't really care since I wasn't using its full potential. Both beams met just above the stadium, clashing vigorously. I quickly saw that my beam was struggling a whole lot against his within a few seconds, and he sent a boost down to make sure I didn't dodge in time. _Looks like its time to lose this form, but at least that extra power will be put to good use._

"Argh - ! YAAAAAH!" I yelled out as my super form dropped when the energy left my hands. It sailed upwards and hammered Friezell's beam into a quick retreat back to the villain himself. I discontinued the beam when I felt him panic slightly, figuring it was more than he can handle. Then his power flared again, and I realized that I better move pretty quickly. _Oh man, serious miscalculation._

"Get away from the ring!" I called out as I hovered above the bulls eye. The beam came roaring back from his sudden power boost and stabbed through the arena. I phased out as it arrived, blazing past it as fast as I could in my normal form. The blast exploded off the ground, shaking the whole room with its bright flash as I covered my eyes along with most of the crowd.

--

**When the light cleared,** the ring was nothing but dust floating above a big hole that was wider than it had originally been. I hovered back to the center, seeing that the blast didn't quite pierce all the way through the small planetoid, but it wasn't a shallow hole by any means. Everyone who had been rather close to the ring did manage to get away in time, though East Kai was having trouble with her wig. I barely had time to look back before a white and pink colored fist met with my cheek. I flew downwards from the impact, barely stopping above the ground and gazing upwards. Friezell floated above, looking very confident.

"You almost hit the ground - you would have lost the match! We do not need a ring, however, so I guess I just need to finish the job!" he declared.

"Just so you folks all know, if either opponent hits the grass, he will lose the match. Right now, it looks like it'll be the first one to falter and lose control of his flight! What a match this has been so far!" the MC announced for the hearing and seeing impaired. Friezell phased out and I had trouble tracking him. I sensed him reappear behind, but I couldn't turn fast enough to avoid a quick kick that sent me into the air. I tried to stop myself, only to receive another painful blow to the side that sent me towards the audience. There was a potent serious of ki blasts following me and I knew I had to stop it. I spun quickly while releasing my Psi energy, forming a quick and solid blue barrier ahead in the shape of my shield. The blasts exploded right in front of me, but did not break through nor did they get into the crowd. I quickly dispersed my shield as soon as it was over, letting it flow back into me while watching Friezell chuckle slightly.

"Back to the tricks, are you truly too weak to handle me in a real fight!" he declared, crossing his arms. I rose a bit to match his altitude, glaring at him and watching for any opening he gave up. All of those signals told me to attack now while he appeared to be off guard, but I knew better after seeing his speed. _I need to hit him quick and hard if I'm going to beat him without transforming. Hell, I doubt he would give me the time to power up before attacking, leaving me wide open and possibly eating dirt. I need to hit him with a quick and unexpected…ah ha!_ I barely kept myself from smirking when I realized what had worked so well earlier could win me the match now that I had done it once already. I released a good deal of Psi energy into the air without moving a muscle and let it hover towards the air just above his position, hoping he wouldn't catch on.

"So, are you ready to lose boy? You sure don't look very confident anymore!" he said with another laugh.

"I'll give it another try, get ready for my best technique!" I said with determination, dropping my ki level purposefully to throw him off.

"You're hardly a threat at this level, unless you plan to transform, you are going down! But by all means, try it and I'll let you know how pathetic it was!" _I can't believe he still isn't taking me seriously after I just gave him such a good run. Oh well, he's going to learn one way or the other. _He didn't budge when I started to pull my arms back like I was going to let him have another Galic gun.

"Get ready then big guy! Shock Cannon!" I shouted, firing a golden and carefully powered ki beam straight at him. He laughed a bit more as I discontinued the beam.

"That's all you've got? I can't believe that you would send such a weak blast. Even the Satan girl could give me more effort!" he roared, ready to knock it away. I had aimed it just a little high so I had a good angle, and then let the Psi above his head stir and start to move a bit as I gathered it all up. Just as the beam arrived, and sent all of the Psi down at it in one big lightning bolt with slight motion of one hand. Friezell saw the lightning hit the beam and his jaw dropped open in surprise. An even brighter and louder green flash than before went off, and the villain's mangled body was hurled into the side of the stadium before dropping to the grass. My senses captured every bit of the energy released from the blast, confirming that it was actually five times stronger than it should have been. _Man, I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that attack at full power. Might be too dangerous though with it having five times more of an energy output. Ah hell, here I am analyzing the attack when I just won the match._ I descended and landed near the Grand Kai's position, arms crossed.

"Verto is the winner, with another amazing attack!" the MC announced.

"Look at our ring!" South Kai whined.

"What ring?" East Kai answered.

"I gotta admit it, the kid is good," West kai said, wiping some dirt off his eyeglass.

"Oh yeah, you da man!" King Kai declared, busting out the victory fans. Friezell looked to be recovering from my attack and really steamed at losing. He had lost more than half of his midsection, his left arm, most of his left leg and part of his head and face. The way his energy flared, I was guessing that he wasn't going to accept the loss. I noticed then how close Fasha and Videl were to him as he stood up and regenerated what he had lost. His power level dropped noticeably, just below what I had been at Super Saiyan 2.

"No, I refuse to lose like this! Not to a child! Argh! Fine, if you won't fight me for real, then I shall take it out on your friends!" he shouted, his aura flaring dangerously as he flew straight at Fasha and Videl.

"Stop this, I forbid it!" the Grand Kai announced. Friezell ignored him as the girls backed up a step in slight panic. I frowned deeply and pulled all of my power to the surface, fusing it together. The silver transformation hit quickly, and I phased out, catching Friezell's fist about one foot away in front of Fasha.

"Our fight is over! Accept your loss and go back to hell, or you will get what you wanted so badly!" I warned.

"So, finally up for the challenge are you?" he asked with a grin.

"No. You're too weak now to be a match for me, now back off!" I said, releasing the fist. He backed up before dropping back into familiar stance. He didn't bother chanting the words this time, just simply fired the Kamehameha. I quickly put up a Chi fueled shield to protect everyone behind me. His blast deflected off and soared harmlessly into the sky, leaving him quite stunned that it didn't do anything. I didn't waste a moment and rushed forward, letting him have it right in the stomach. He choked on the blood that welled up in his throat, giving him the wake up call he needed. He backed off while holding his gut and dropped to his knees as he groaned, but not retaliating as I might have expected. He stood up and regenerated the damage, taking a deep breath as if to calm down while I glared at him. I quickly activated my sword, letting him take in its now green intensity before slicing the air just a bit and bringing it back to a ready position.

"So, do you really want to be humiliated even more at this point, or have you had enough?" I asked, ready for either answer.

"I see. I have no choice but to concede. But mark my words boy, we will have another match someday," he said, backing off and heading for the far side of the stadium. _For once, a villain made the right choice._

_-- _

"**I can't believe he actually gave up!**" Videl said in surprise. Fasha was busy looking at a nasty bruise emerging on my face, not too mention the slightly black eye forming. I hadn't realized that I had taken that much damage at first, but once I powered back down, I felt the bumps and bruises.

"You won't hear me complaining," I joked a bit.

"What would you have done if that shock cannon thing didn't work?" Fasha asked.

"Whatever I could to power up all the way, I was close to resorting to either really cheap tactics, or plowing him over," I said in honesty.

"You big sandbagger," she said, embracing me a little tighter than I wanted at the time.

"Ow, seriously, don't hug me that tight right now. I think he bruised one of the ribs," I said, rubbing my side a bit.

"Attention please, the Grand Kai has an announcement!" the mushroom head called out.

"Due to the ring being totally destroyed, we will postpone the final match for one hour while the other Kais reconstruct it according to regulation. Feel free to hit up the food stands while you are waiting!" he said, getting up himself and disappearing into the background. Once the word food escaped his beard, I answered the call of my stomach and dashed over to the buffet line that was near the stadium entrance. The other participants quickly scattered when they saw me making a quick beeline for the nourishment.

"Aren't you a little worried about fighting Pikkon with these injuries? He's pretty good after all," Videl said, turning her head to the side slightly.

I stopped munching momentarily, "Actually I'm trying not to think about that right now. I'm confident though that I can fight him without transforming. As powerful as I get in that form, I also don't have everything worked out yet. I'd prefer to save that power for the absolutely necessary situations. Absorbing extra ki to ascend to Super Saiyan 2 is better because I can use all my techniques and I can increase my strength and speed without having to go all out. What happened on Auir is what I would prefer to stay away from. You know that great Saiyan warrior that blows everyone away without hesitation, that's what it was like for me. I'm far more comfortable fighting at a lower power level. Look at it this way, I still have an ace in the hole. If I'm forced into it, I will transform when its necessary to win," I explained.

"You didn't answer her question, what about your injuries?" Fasha asked instead.

"And you trained with Vegeta and the others for how long? I would think you would know that I've been through worse and have fought with less. I beat the Overmind while my body was falling apart. King Kai said that I'm slowing getting tougher as I develop my power. Don't worry about me," I said with a slightly serious tone.

"Well you'll need to be on guard, you don't want him going after your face or your ribs. Surely he has noticed by now, he could use that to his advantage!" Fasha countered.

"True, but if I really don't want him to hit me, he won't be able to," I answered.

"Aren't you worried that he could overpower you if you don't go all out?" Videl inquired.

I chuckled, "Let me worry about it and just enjoy the match. I don't plan to let this get out of hand, I've seen what he is capable of." That part was true, I had seen his best attacks and techniques and they weren't anything I couldn't handle. That being the case, I still needed to be careful. Even with these minor injuries, my power level was going to be a bit lower. On the other hand, he had burned up a considerable amount of energy as well, so it was an even handicap I suppose.

"Can we get Verto and Pikkon to the ring please?" the announcer suddenly shouted out. I glanced behind to see a new unblemished ring, noticeably bigger to cover the huge hole completely.

"What a match we have in store for you! We all know how good Pikkon is, but how about this young man from earth and his many talents. I've been told that Friezell is in fact one of the worst and most powerful villains around, and this kid took him down. I tell you I can't wait to see this fight, let's get this party started!" the MC called out as I walked into the ring. The crowd was very into it, with loud whistles coming from the side of the ring I had just come from. Pikkon lined up across from me, still without his training robes.

"Are you ready? I plan on giving you my best," he said in a low tone.

"I think you know the answer it that," I replied coolly as the bell rang.

**Power levels:**

**Verto: 300,000,000; SS2: 450,000,000; SS2 (without weighted clothes): 475,000,000; Super Mystic: 600,000,000**

**Verto's Shock Cannon Second Try: 550,000,000**

**Friezell: 540,000,000; weakened: 400,000,000**

**A/n: Kind of short compared to what I expected when I planned Friezell Vs. Verto, but a lot of things and ideas have changed since that time, which was before I wrote Series 5. Originally Friezell vs. Verto was to be the final match. **


	12. Championship Match

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 11: Championship Match**

Pikkon started off by throwing multiple ki blasts, all of which I knocked aside easily. He charged in after firing the last one, a punch drawn back. I countered by punching at his oncoming fist, getting a noticeable amount of impact from both hands colliding. He swung his other just as I did, same result. We clasped hands and pushed against each other in a test of strength. He quickly poured his ki into the effort, and I felt myself gliding backwards. I dropped to a knee to stop myself, but also giving up leverage. I groaned a bit as I pushed back with my own ki, barely budging Pikkon's larger form, but also noticed that he was being very careful. I blinked a bit at this, seeing I was in a great position to use his own leverage against him. I pulled back and kicked upwards quickly, catching his stomach just as he let go, sending him airborne. I flipped upwards and blasted off full speed towards Pikkon's stunned form. He dodged out of the way just in time as I came roaring through. I sensed him fire off a ki blast to follow me and I swung around to avoid it. Pikkon wasn't moving below and I sensed the ki blast turn around and come at me from the left. I flew away, keeping a sharp eye on both it and Pikkon as it chased me down like a heat seeking missile.

_Hmmm, he isn't taking the chance on attacking while I'm dodging this thing. He must assume that I haven't pulled out the entire playbook yet. I could make this thing go away with the Feedback move, but I'm curious to see if my Psi Storm can take it out just like the Shock Cannon._ I stopped and released a large amount of Psi into the path of the ki blast, making it as equal to the blast as I could. Then I flew backwards and let it give chase again before turning a few times so I could get it back to my Psi field. I flew through the invisible field quickly and stopped just in time to start moving it around. The ki blast flew into it and I sent all of the Psi energy at it. I grinned as the flash and bang went off, dissipating the blast and putting quite a surprised look on Pikkon's face. I noticed that my ki and Psi were noticeably differing in levels afterwards, no doubt because I had to release a lot of Psi to equal that ki blast of his. I fired about a dozen low power ki blasts towards Pikkon to balance it back out. He dodged easily and flew up to my altitude about sixty feet away or so. I felt his ki level rising rapidly and he started a slow dance sequence that I had seen before. I quickly released more Psi energy to place a barrier around me, mostly in front.

"Thunder Flash Attack!" he shouted, sending the flame attack directly at me. I braced for impact, but my shield held up nicely and the flames were forced around it. He didn't halt the attack though, and I rapidly got a little warm despite my shield blocking the ki flames. The temperature rose quickly and I felt a lot of sweat pooling up on my face and skin. _I get it, he's gonna make me break the shield to order to escape the flames, maybe I should add an upgrade to it and see what shakes loose from that. _I poured an equal amount of ki into the shield, making it glow green. The heat decreased rapidly and I pushed the Chi shield forward, making the flames disperse a lot sooner. I felt him struggle and send a lot of desperate energy down the wave to counter, but my shield held up fine. _Wow, this thing is stronger than I thought, no wonder Dabura likes to use it so much. But if I take this chance to move out of the way, it will drop and that attack might clip me. I wonder if I can use the energy behind me and send a blast through the shield and those flames, worth a try. _I gathered the shield energy from behind and sent it forward, opening a large hole in the middle of the flame wave. I didn't bother holding out and gathered it into a small ball before shooting it forward. Pikkon's flame wave stopped abruptly when it hit him, the priceless and surprised look all over his face.

"_How in the hell did you counter that?_" I heard Fasha ask. I ignored her and released the shield, drawing it back to me. Pikkon's stunned form hovered in the air, and I took the opening and dropped both forearms on his back. He spiraled towards the ring, hitting right in the middle and leaving several chunks of rubble displaced.

"Not again!" South Kai complained as I descended.

"Can't these kids leave the ring out of their battle?" East Kai asked.

"Last I checked, that's what it is there for - the battle!" King Kai said thoughtfully. I sensed Pikkon stir and his power level shot up dramatically.

"Kaio-ken!" I heard him shout. _Oh great._ As soon as I saw the dust from his re-emergence, a sharp knife hand struck my bruised face and I was on the ground in pain. A strong kick to my left side came a moment later, striking the possibly broken rib and maybe taking a few more with it.

"Whoa, Pikkon has come back in a furious rage! Verto is going to have trouble getting out of this one without serious injury!" the MC announced. Another kick came in unblocked and I groaned as I became airborne and heading for the grass. I stopped myself and Pikkon flew in for the final blow, his eyes very determined. His ambition to win must have killed his focus, because he lost the Kaioken powerup just as he swung. The sudden decrease in speed gave me time to dodge and return fire with a nasty kick of my own that hit his head at an odd angle. He was stunned and I kicked hard again from the other side, bending his head in the opposite direction. _Man, this match sure did get harsh, guess he's mad about that flame wave counter. Well that response probably reminded him to focus._ Pikkon recovered once he flew away a little further, but then he flew upwards and the Kaioken aura came back on as his power surged again. He stopped quite a ways above the stadium, looking down as I moved towards the center of the ring. "This match ends now!" he shouted out. Then he did something I didn't expect, he floated outwards and started to rotate around. He literally spun in circles like he trying to make himself dizzy or something. He kept going until all I saw was a gray blur in the air and his power flared outwards.

"Hyper Tornado Attack!" he called out. _Now where have I heard that one before...I think Goku mentioned it in one of his stories. What the hell is it though, some sort of blast?_ The gray blur then expanded and came downward very quickly in the shape of a wide funnel. _Oh, that kind of tornado._ I dodged to the side, but the energy driven wind came around and pulled me into the funnel easily even while I flew against it. Once inside, my body rotated with the funnel even as I tried to escape it. Chunks of the ring were picked up and started hitting me all over the place, some leaving bruise marks and others leaving cuts. I cried out in pain, trying to think of a way out of it.

"Give it up - it's over!" he shouted down.

"Fat chance!" I shouted back. The wind speed increased and bigger chunks of ring came near. _Ah crap, maybe I should try the shield before I throw up from dizziness._ I gathered and fused the Chi energy I needed for the shield and surrounded myself with it. Almost instantly the wind speed dropped to nothing more than a mild breeze, and the rocks that collided with my shield broke apart. Pikkon didn't react and kept up the effort, so I assumed that he neither sensed nor saw what I had done. Neither did anyone else apparently, I sensed Fasha and Videl panicking a little bit. I used the opportunity to start powering up and going for the win right away. I fused the remaining energy together and my hair turned silver almost immediately. _Man, this transformation is getting easy to do._ I glanced up to see that Pikkon still hadn't reacted. I pulled the Chi shield energy back in and felt the strong wind once again. Now though, it only played with my hair and clothes as I stayed stationary and the ring particles turned to dust when they brushed by my aura. With a mighty battle cry, I soared upwards through the funnel and surprised Pikkon with an uppercut right on the chin. I followed it up with a hard overhead smash and watched him freefall to the arena. I sensed his energy level drop and that he was out of it for the moment. I descended fast to catch him off guard, but Pikkon never moved and dropped into the grass area. I grinned slightly as I landed, powering down in the process. Talk about a lot of shocked faces, the crowd was full of them. Goku had mentioned that he had beaten Pikkon with the warp Kamehameha the first time and that it drew a similar reaction.

--

**"Oh wow, Pikkon has lost in dramatic fashion**. That means Verto is the winner, and champion of the tournament!" the MC announced. Loud cheers went up and I swore I heard a marching band playing nearby, though the crowd noise drowned it out. I glanced up to see the Grand Kai flipping quickly through some sort of large and old looking book. _Probably looking for a way out of my prize lesson._ I ignored it and gave Pikkon a hand up.

"Sorry about the head blows," I said as he reached his feet.

"Nah, don't worry about it. You did what you had to do to win. But in that case, sorry about the ribs and the face. Your girlfriend probably won't be happy about that," he said, pointing to my face. I reached up and felt a decent trickle of red coming from my cheek. I took a deep breath and groaned in pain once my lower rib cage moved enough.

"Looks like we gave each other enough pain for a few days to make it worthwhile," I joked.

"One question. How did you stop yourself and power up so quickly? It came out of nowhere like you were holding back the whole time."

"I used that shield you seem so fond of. That stopped my motion completely and made it easy. And as you might have heard before, I wasn't meaning to transform again. Thought I'd at least give you guys a chance before you pushed me to it," I said, holding out a handshake.

"You are truly gifted, I hope to have another match with you sometime," he said.

"Any time, assuming you can settle your master down. I think he's going to faint over there with King Kai around," I replied, enjoying the scene. King Kai was kindly reminding West Kai that he was now his slave for a week and West Kai's face didn't budge from his shocked, jaw-dropping expression. I chuckled and walked slowly over towards the Grand Kai's podium as the MC was motioning me over for the award ceremony.

--

**I stood in front of the nervous looking** Grand Kai as the MC was rattling off some tale about past champions, supposedly something they always did before crowning a new one. I figured all these Kais could speak telepathically, so I sent a message to him.

"_Nervous that you'll have to teach me something?_" He glanced up in slight surprise and stopping flipping pages.

"_No offense kid, but I doubt I could teach you anything worthwhile right now, as I doubt you could handle it,"_ he said, though I detected that same nervous tension throughout his message, as if he was only bluffing.

"_I'm gonna be old and gray by the time I would be up here again and hold you to it. You probably already know that I'm not here for long and only to train a lot for six months. You sound like Mr. Satan when it comes to backing out. That's okay, Goku always said you seemed a bit lazy for such a great fighter. Frankly I won't be missing out on much if you just lie your way out of it,"_ I said, trying to get the Kai's attention. It worked quite well too.

"_How dare you question my abilities, you overconfident young punk!_" he shouted through the telepathy.

"_Dude, I could beat the hell out of the Supreme Kai and he knows it. I don't think you would be much of a challenge in that regard. Your godlike talents are nice, but they don't win the fights that I've been in. Take it easy though, I'm not gonna show you up. Just announce that you'll train me the when you train Goku. When's that, in about three hundred years or something?_" I replied, trying to keep him calm without causing a scene to the oblivious audience.

"_Yeah that's right, I figured that would be enough time to get back into shape to handle him. I didn't think his power would grow so much in just seven years. Then you come along even stronger than he was, you can surely understand why I'm a little hesitant,_" he thought out in a much calmer and truthful tone.

"_See how easy it was to admit that? Unlike a lot of folks around here who think you're great and all, I expect the truth and nothing less. Maybe I'll come back and we can jam the tunes or something, too bad my music player is back on earth. Hell, it might have been destroyed during the Protoss siege, you would have loved that rock n roll!_" I boasted, getting to a subject he would enjoy. Both of us were too engrossed in our mental conversation to notice that the MC had stopped talking and was now looking up at the Grand Kai.

"Uh, sir, you can give out the medal now!" he said.

"Oh right, Verto, I proudly award you this medal of excellence and invite you to take my private lessons in three hundred years!" he announced, tossing a golden medal my way. I caught it and took note of the Kai symbol on both sides with the words "First Place" imbedded below. I bowed slightly in thanks and walked over towards Fasha and Videl as the crowd applauded loudly.

"Great job, shrimp!" Videl teased.

"That's champion shrimp to you," I joked back.

"So, you all want to get some dinner back at the house?" King Kai asked, walking up with West Kai in tow.

"Are you sure we want to find out how bad Western cooking is?" I asked with a grin. King Kai rolled on the ground instantly, with a never-ending laugh.

"Bwahahahahaha - ! That's so funny! Hahahahaha...!" he continued.

"Come on, that was a lame joke!" West Kai pleaded to no avail. King Kai laughed so hard that the ground started to shake, or so I thought. A serious tremor came through, making a good deal of the audience fall over each other, but I didn't sense any sort of energy release from King Kai.

"What is that?" Fasha said, looking towards the ring. King kai stopped laughing in surprise and looked on with the rest of us. I saw Friezell on the other side, but he was looking at the ring with a focused look. Just above the center of the ring, and a pair of large and pale yellow hands emerged from just above the ring surface. I gazed closer, seeing some sort of horizontal distortion about a foot above the ring. _Some sort of interdimensional portal I assume, but what is that thing coming out of it? _A large pale looking head followed the hands, as did shoulders and a big tubby body that put Fat Buu to shame. It had to have been about forty feet tall and easily just as wide as it rose out of the ground and landed in the ring as the distortion vanished. A large tail also came with, well whatever this thing was. Some sort of similar colored armor with holes was covering it, and it shouted a word I didn't recognize.

"Janemba! Janemba!"

**Power levels remain the same.**

**A/n: Short chapter, kind of a short fight as well, but again, once that Super Mystic transformation goes off, it probably isn't going to matter what Pikkon does. At least I care enough to make it compelling. Other than that, Booya! The author strikes again with a sudden twist! **

**Expect the next update sometime in the latter part of this week, though I haven't really decided when. As usual with me, more responce will promote a faster update.  
**


	13. Janemba's Assault

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 12: Janemba's assault**

_Sometimes things don't go the way they were planned. But the most important thing is to never, give, up!_

---

"What the hell are you?" I asked the new creature. It didn't respond, sitting and staring back. It looked around the stadium shortly after.

"Well folks, it's anyone's guess as to what this thing is. Maybe it wants to fight?" the MC egged on. He turned out to be right partially, as it punched at the air to its side. Another portal appeared and its hand vanished into it. Then I saw the ring MC flying across the arena before getting kicked from the air by a big foot coming from another portal. _Interdimensional attacks? That's a new one._ He was allowed to drop to the ground a moment later while the big creature seemed to laugh just a bit. I managed to get a scan of its energy, and received an incredibly evil and strong Chi signal in return.

"Janemba! Janemba!" it shouted again.

"Janemba!" King Kai suddenly shouted.

"Is that this thing's name?" I asked, not taking my eyes off of it.

"He was a very powerful and evil demon that was trapped long ago in Hell. His soul was stored inside one of King Yemma's evil containment barrels, they're designed to hold extra evil energy so his spirit cleanser doesn't overload. He must have escaped somehow!" King Kai said.

"He mentioned sending Buu's soul through that and having it prepared for reincarnation. Could that have overloaded that cleanser thing? Buu was as evil as it gets," I suggested, getting a noticeable shiver out of King Kai.

"That could have done it, but he would have had to grab a host in order to attain physical form. Maybe one of the ogre attendants nearby?" he said, glancing up at the Grand Kai.

"But why would he come here? According to my senses, he came here first and left the check-in station alone," Grand Kai said, looking confused. Judging by the look the creature was giving me, I came to my own conclusions.

"It was probably me, it sensed my power a few minutes ago and got interested. So, I assume we need to destroy this thing or it'll blow us all up?" I asked.

"Exactly. Be careful though, it is very powerful!" King Kai said, backing off a bit. _I suppose I could put up with one more challenger today. Not like I have anything better to do. Besides, this thing looks like it'll be better off dead. Talk about ugly._ I tossed my medal to King Kai to hold on to, stretching a bit while the pale monster danced a bit in the ring.

"Hold onto that, I'm gonna put it on my wall next to one of this thing's armor chunks, if there's any left that is," I said with a slight grin. The creature, Janemba, didn't react to my words, making me think it had beat out Buu in the general lack of brains department. _Then again Buu wasn't much to look at either when that nightmare started, he could be holding back a lot of his power._ I noticed Friezell looking quite interested in what was about to transpire, almost as if this monster had come to avenge his loss or something. I slid into a minor stance, seeing the monster have little to no reaction as it just stood there, looking around. Janemba suddenly threw his huge hands up and I felt his power begin to stir. The energy poured out and shot into the skies, though produced no light. That is until the sky actually turned pale white and the small asteroids and planets turned colors as well. When they stopped shifting colors, I took note that the planets has turned into what looked to be giant jellybeans. _This thing has a strange sense of creativity_. I jumped into the ring, finally getting it's attention as it shook the ground by dancing a bit more. _Well, he's probably still hiding his true power. I mustn't assume anything about this stupid-looking creature right now with the things he's done already. I need to anticipate what he does and counteract it, therefore I should not attack first. I need to let him make the first move…damn that might take awhile._ I needn't worry about getting bored, because Janemba decided that it was time to fight very quickly. I barely sensed his Chi signal fluctuating as he suddenly punched the air again. Then I was suddenly hit hard from behind as I sensed a faint echo behind me as he retracted his punch.

"Oh come on, can't you fight without resorting to that? Are you a coward or what?" I yelled at him.

"Janemba, Janemba!" it answered. _This thing is dumber than Buu, but stronger also. I can only blame myself for not sensing that one. Oh well, I guess I'll take this to the next level before I get embarrassed too much._ I forced my energies together and took them as high as possible, bringing some more relief to all of the painful bruises I had. Janemba's eyes widened and his smile dropped as my silver transformation kicked in. Once I attained full power, Janemba tried his trick punch again and I dodged aside as it arrived. I quickly glanced back to see his huge hand retreating through the interdimensional portal he had just created. I still didn't sense a whole lot coming off of him, therefore he had to be holding a lot back. The energy stirred again and I jumped out of the way on instinct, but still watching the creature. He punched and kicked in random angles and I quickly zigged and zagged across the ring, trying to keep him guessing. He looked quite flustered that he couldn't hit me and tried one last time with a lot more effort. I spun around just as his hand missed and prepared for it to retreat once again while I was out of his sight.

"Super Galic Gun!" I fired the beam right as his hand retracted, and his eyes lit up like deer staring at the headlights. I overpowered the beam as Janemba made no effort to try to dodge, trying to finish him quickly. I sensed his energy stir again, and then the head of my blast vanished. Just as it did, I sensed a powerful Chi blast emerging from right behind me. _Oh shit, I better absorb this one!_ I quickly activated my sword and barely had time to block against the green blast that quickly came roaring to my position. I pulled the energy inwards through the sword, noting that it was indeed my energy to begin with. _Almost a perfect defense from ranged attacks. There's got to be a way to blast him without it backfiring in my face. At the very least I won't waste my energy if I make that mistake again and act fast enough. That certainly would have stung if I hadn't._ Just as I finished reabsorbing my own blast, his huge fist came at me again from another portal. I ducked down, barely missing it and seeing it retract quickly just as his arm retracted. _That's it! I've got to blast him right after he attacks. I had the right idea before, just aimed the wrong way._

"Bring it on tubby, you can't hit me!" I shouted, trying to agitate him into attacking. It worked, and on his next punch I fired another beam right at his fist. It pushed him back easily and exploded off of him from across the arena. But it didn't do as much as I had hoped, it only seemed to knock him over and shake the ground in the process. _Great, tough as rubber too._ He got up with some minor bruises, but nothing more than that. That crazy grin returned as he stretched some more, as if he was just getting warmed up. _This thing has more power than he knows what to do with, I need to end this while he's still playing around. Good thing he's so dumb and doesn't seem to know how to use his power very well. He'll probably get angry and frustrated soon enough - wait a sec, I can use that to my advantage!_ I gathered a quick energy wave in my hands, but separated the Psi energy out and fired a regular ki blast. The creature only batted it away, and watched as the ring area lit up with white light coming from my other hand. I glanced at Fasha and grinned slightly, keeping one of many happier memories in mind.

"Feedback!" I shouted as I threw the Psi ball, keeping a good mental grip on it. I waited for it to sail close enough until I sensed Janemba's Chi signal start to stir. Just as another portal appeared, I pulled it downward before pushing it ahead again, surprising the hell out of the monster. It made contact instantly and erupted into a lot of white lightning that streaked all over him as he shrieked and shifted around trying to get it off. I took off into the air and made my way to just above his huge head. Gathering my green sword again, I swept downwards just as he managed to stand up again.

"Take this!" I shouted as he stared upwards. I slashed downwards just as I landed on his shoulder, cutting through his fat head with my sword and leaving it split apart. I heard general sounds of discomfort, but his energy signal didn't disperse like I thought it would. His head sort of collapsed in on itself and looked to be in the process of reorganizing. _Damn, don't tell me he regenerates too? _I jumped back into the air and dispersed my sword as he grabbed the remaining mess his head. _Time to really tear him up, I guess something similar to a couple of classics will do - with a new name._ I quickly lifted my arm and cocked it, aiming straight at him like I was going to fire the big bang attack, only I loaded it up with Chi energy and left my fingers split apart. I sensed he was starting to eject the feedback effect from his body, probably because of all the evil energy he was supposedly made of, or because he wasn't getting overly emotional, one of the two. _Oh well, doesn't matter, he's not moving and I have a perfect shot at him._ I took notice at the brightness of the attack in my hand, giving me a name for it quickly, though it wasn't exactly brand new.

"Final - Shine - ATTACK!" I shouted. The beam roared with my hand fully spanned out, a little sloppier than what I would have liked. I managed to straighten it out just as it hit the remnants of his head and plowed through his neck. I discontinued it, getting ready for what would certainly be quite an explosion by flying back across the arena and dropping to the ground. The remainder of Janemba's head caved in on itself just as the last of the beam got through. I sensed it move all the way through and certainly destroy whatever he called vital organs. His arms and hands then shrank back with his shoulders and they caved in on the upper body. He fell backward as the same thing happened to his kicking legs. _Heh, Vegeta's probably not going to be happy when I master a new attack before he does, oh well. _It was true, I had noticed Vegeta training with this new attack idea before on the way to Auir, another one of those days where I was sneaking around undetected. Its hand motion was basically the big bang attack, only the palm and fingers stayed open. To me though, it was like a cross between both the Big bang and Final Flash moves - with the movement of Piccolo's old Destructive Wave thrown in there. I had never tested it on Auir, but I didn't care to at the time.

"What the hell? Did I trigger some sort of transformation?" I asked aloud, glancing at the Kais, who didn't seem to know. It quickly overlapped his insides and covered something completely for a few moments. Then the left over body mass shrank away, revealing a much more muscular and smaller form. Once all of the remaining body mass was absorbed, the red form turned partially gray as a pair of evil yellow eyes opened and a small grin formed underneath them. It looked more like a demon that I should have been facing, though I didn't truly know either way. Red skin, a dull gray armor covering his arms, body and head, and a long red tail to go with it. The devil-like horns were enough of a giveaway to know that this was the creature that King Kai was talking about. I knew quickly that the fight had just begun, and that was before I sensed his massive power level.

--

"That is Janemba's true form!" I heard King Kai shout to me. _I suppose that was going to happen eventually, no matter what I did. Might have preferred to be able to fight this thing at full power and health though. I imagine my feedback technique isn't going to do much here._ The demon kept his sick looking grin and stood motionless, waiting for me to move first. _Guess I'll oblige and test him first._ I released a small amount of Chi into the air and moved it above his head. He glanced around for a moment, perhaps sensing it in the process. I quickly rotated it around his head, and he looked up there with a little more acknowledgement. Instead of piling all of the energy up like I might have done, I sent all of it down at him in the form of a Chi storm as I had decided to call it. Just like the Psi storm, only more dangerous and more powerful. The green lightning struck immediately, and Janemba groaned a bit as I kept up the effort. I didn't have a problem hitting him, but it didn't seem to do anything to his power signal. I ceased the attack and pulled what was left of the energy back to me, seeing it hadn't done much more than dirty his armor. _Okay, no need for further tests. This guy is incredibly strong._

Janemba's grin crept back onto his face, before he opened his mouth wide as if he was going to laugh at me. But when I saw the blast forming in his throat, I decided that I shouldn't stick around. I barely dodged the mouth blast and got back into the air. I looked back for the demon, but he was gone. I sensed his power slowly appear directly behind me and spun only to receive a nasty punch that broke my nose on the spot. I tried to ignore the pain, but instincts to protect it for the moment kicked in and gave him a free shot to the already injured ribs. His strong kick sent me to the ground, where I coughed up a small red paint job for the ring rubble. The remaining crowd groaned as I pulled myself up, and Janemba hovered in the air with something long and red in his hands. I quickly saw it to be a sword, making me wonder where the hell it came from. He twirled it around a few times as if to get used to the weight, then held it above his head. His power flowed into it and made it glow bright red, as it seemed to shake the arena. _Great, what the hell is he going to do with that?_ I got my answer when he pointed it towards me a moment later. The red Chi came flying out of the sword, along with bits and pieces of the weapon. I didn't bother trying to track all of the energy darts headed for me, and quickly surrounded myself with a thickly layered Chi shield. My shield held up well, but I had to add energy to keep all of his attack at bay. I heard him laughing as his attack continued, as if his sword wouldn't simply disintegrate all at once. Through it all, I managed to see that the sword was half gone and slowly getting smaller.

_I have to attack him quickly right when his sword is gone, but if it's going to work I'll have to use almost all of my power at once! Oh well, it wouldn't be the first time. If all else fails, it should weaken him enough to where someone else can finish him!_ I quickly gathered a lot of my power while keeping my Chi shield up, something that proved to be all but easy. One or two of the sword pieces got through when I lost focus momentarily, painfully reminding me to keep the shield up. I finished charging what I thought would at least hurt him, noting that I still had power to spare, but not enough to fight him again should it fail. His sword completely vanished as the last of his attack came down, and I elected to strike right then before he realized what I was doing.

I quickly dropped the shield and released the growing beam in my hands, "Super Galic Gun!" My beam roared out and obliterated the last of Janemba's attack, going straight for the monster himself. Just before it hit, I saw his hands go to the sides of his head. _Solar Flare? No that wouldn't do much, what is he up to?_ My blast then vanished into a white hole, a result of his tampering with the regular laws of physics.

"Argh," I growled. The hole closed and I saw his wicked grin again just as I sensed another power surge to my right. _Oh shit,_ I barely even got the thought out before I jumped backwards, knowing that I didn't have enough time to absorb it again. My Chi beam blasted through and clipped the front part of my body, burning off the top of my gi in the process. The hit opened up some sore bruises into open cuts, leaving me bleeding all over. It hit the worst along my upper left arm, easily enough force to break it in more than one spot. I was blown back into the wall as it flew out of the portal and right towards the stands. I managed to turn and use a lot of my remaining power to direct it upwards, missing the crowd by a few feet. Once it exploded harmlessly in the skies, I felt my Super Mystic form wavering before it began to slip away. I calmed myself and powered down, my energies separating quickly. I held my knees and caught my breath while Janemba started laughing some more. He certainly had every right to, he had the battle won as it stood so far.

"Damn, how the hell am I going to beat him now?" I asked aloud.

"It looks like you'll need some help if you want to win this battle," Friezell said from my right, stepping towards me.

"I'm surprised that you're not enjoying this a little more? Isn't pain and suffering your department?" I asked, preparing myself to get smacked around by the other villain.

"Believe it or not boy, I don't take any sort of pleasure in watching you lose right now. That thing is a threat to my existence as well, and I am - offering my assistance. Take it or leave it!" he said.

"No offense, but what good will you do? I fought him with all my power and he easily won thanks to his ability to warp the space around him!" I said, groaning a bit as I tried to slow my breathing.

"You didn't fight him with all of your power, not yet. But all the energy you expelled during the tournament probably weakened you as much as it did me. I've had time to recover, unlike yourself. Add to that years more of battle experience and you have a valuable and temporary ally. I suggest you find a way to power up while I keep him distracted. How long do you need to power up that Shock Cannon attack of yours?" he asked.

"Well, not long actually, as long as he sits still. I can fire the ki beam almost any time I want, the trick is to hit it with my Psi storm right when it gets to him. That's what I did against you," I admitted, a bit surprised at myself for revealing the secrets of my attack to him. I wasn't too worried though, he wouldn't be able to use it either.

"Do you require an even amount of power to do this for maximum efficiency? Your ki level is pretty low, but I can't even sense this Psi energy you keep speaking of," he pointed out.

"Hey, I just learned it not long ago. I'm not an expert at using it yet. But yeah, equal amount of energy works the best when I'm using my more powerful attacks. I can use my emotions to make my Psi energy a little more effective, but it's a little difficult to do," I added.

"You had better do it then, and find a way to power back up to Super Saiyan. Your ki is way too low to bruise him, even with that attack!" he said just as he spread his wings out. I backed up a step as his power flared before he took off for Janemba. I watched him fly quickly up to Janemba's position before engaging him in a brawl.

Friezell did not have any sort of true advantage against Janemba; he was very much outclassed. Only the regeneration kept him from taking too much damage, but his power level was not where it had been before. I concentrated on powering up shortly after he took off, but I topped out so fast with my ki that it wasn't even worth the effort. My ki level was well below Fasha's in normal form, my Psi level not much better. It was as high as Fasha's current power though, telling me exactly why I had lost the form so quickly. _Must have burned up too much power during the tournament and lost the balance once I fired my Super Galic Gun that last time, but the Psi feels like enough for the attack to work properly at maximum power._ I quickly deduced that the amount of power I was about to create was well beyond what I should be capable of, giving me an easy and true trump card to use for the future. I watched for any signs of an opening, but it looked like Friezell was barely keeping Janemba off of him. Fasha and Videl flew over while the villains were duking it out, seeing if I was okay for the most part. I quickly found out that my upper left arm was at least partially broken when Fasha nudged it. I managed to keep the reaction to a mild grumble, but it wasn't what I needed right now.

"So, can Cell beat him?" Videl asked.

"It's Friezell, and no, he can't. He offered to buy me time to power up and hit the bastard with my Shock Cannon, but I don't think I have enough power to do it. Unless I get a chance to absorb more Chi energy from that monster, I'm not going to be able to do it. But even if he gave me a free blast, my body is probably too damaged to use it to get back to full power. This happened against the Overmind. I was able to power up, but I couldn't move at all because I was too injured. Still finished the fight, no matter how stupid I was in the process. I think the fact that I'm already dead is why I'm still standing, the extra durability must have kicked in. I know my own blast should have hurt me a whole lot more," I noted as I watched Friezell get knocked across the arena. He quickly phased in and out trying to confuse Janemba. He got his own dose of confusion when Janemba actually broke apart into multi-colored cubes that dispersed into the air. He was back quickly when he blasted Friezell's legs off with his next attack.

"Let us help you out!" Fasha suggested.

"No, don't fight that thing, you won't have a chance!" I warned.

"I meant with the powering up problem, we could give you our energy!" she said. _Hmmm, well absorbing enough ki to at least fight at normal power would be more than enough, shouldn't cause me too much strain either. _

"Good idea. To make it easy and quick you'll have to power up and fire a big attack to me for it to work!" I said. Fasha nodded as she and Videl jumped backwards, both of them releasing their ki. I pushed through the pain and summoned my Psi sword, holding it steady with both hands. Fasha hit the Super Saiyan level pretty fast and proceeded from there as Videl's Kaio-ken aura flickered on.

"Hold on. Wait till he's out of sight!" I said, watching for just such an instant. The Kais must have finally noticed that both Friezell and I would need help, because a Kaioken powered Pikkon came flying out of the crowd to nail Janemba from behind. Just like that he had two fighters on him and they took the fight out of the arena quickly.

"Okay! Go!" I shouted, turning my attention back to the girls.

"Galic Cannon!"

"Kamehameha!"

Both beams came roaring at me, and combined forces just before they reached my position. I blocked against the massive energy wave and skidded back a few feet before getting my bearings and sticking the sword into the blast. Once I had access, I tugged on all of the power I felt. The absorbed ki immediately soothed the injuries of my arms, and slowly all over as it filled in. They had given me more than necessary to use against the monster, but I figured that the extra would come in handy, at least with being able to walk out the door on my own. Soon they stopped blasting, and I powered up with renewed energy. Once again I struggled a bit to power up to the maximum, but once a negative emotion or two kicked in, I hit Super Saiyan 2 quickly and felt my arm go numb. I moved it around a few times to make sure it was good enough to at least use for the moment. I quickly gauged my power level, noting that it was still below Fasha's ascended level, but not by much.

"I thought you'd be stronger than this!" Fasha said, coming closer.

"It's the injuries, the energy you gave me healed some of them, but I'm still pretty tired. I should have enough to get the job done!" I said, lifting into the air.

"Good luck!" she shouted up.

**Power levels:**

**Super Mystic Verto: 580,000,000; weakened base form: 45,000,000; Psi level: 75,000,000; Super Saiyan 2: 360,000,000**

**Friezell: 510,000,000**

**Pikkon (w/ Kaioken): 420,000,000**

**Janemba: 600,000,000**

**A/N: If you all were hoping for a longer main fight between Verto and Janemba, sorry to disappoint you, but it wouldn't really fit in. Verto's pretty tired and beat up as it is, and a long fight with a much stronger foe wouldn't be very realistic. The only question remaining right now is if Verto and Friezell's plan will work. Keep your reading glasses on, this fight isn't over yet!**


	14. Plan for Victory

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 13: Plan for Victory **

I carefully positioned myself just above the arena, waiting for Pikkon and Friezell to lure Janemba back to the scene. I had to wait a bit while an explosive physical battle went on in the pale colored skies, but they eventually got him to come back. Pikkon came back first, in the worst way as he was bashed hard enough to collapse the part of the stands that he went through. Friezell then was battered by incredibly fast punches that I couldn't trace as he was then bashed into the stadium in a similar way. Janemba hovered in, noticing that I was back in the game and barely acknowledging it.

"Hey, Dickhead!" I shouted at him, trying to rile him up as I began to release my Psi energy into the air. He only laughed at me, a reaction I had hoped I would get. I poured the invisible energy right out through my aura as I powered up a big ki blast equal to it. It gathered above his head without notice from anyone except for me, though I saw some visible distortion as I began to move it around with my mind. I had released just about all traces of Psi that I could pull forth, so this had to be the winning blast.

"Get a taste of this at maximum power! Shock Cannon!" I shouted, firing the weak ki beam directly at Janemba. His Chi signal did not waver a bit, showing me how confident he was to either knock it away or let it hit him. While the gold beam blinded him to my true actions, I used my hands to help a bit in maneuvering all of the Psi energy into one small pocket. As soon as I saw his hand go up to knock it away, I brought both hands down, sending the Psi bolt and all of the energy down at once. He didn't even have time to gasp as the bright green explosion erupted from thin air. This time though, the area it affected was quite a bit larger, and the ring rubble even displaced a bit from the blast, as did a small part of the stadium in a neat little curve from some of the impact. The sound was even more deafening, a lot like a bomb going off less than twenty feet away. The wind blew me backwards a bit, but I kept steady as the blast quickly dissipated. Janemba's Chi signal took a slight dip, but still remained very high as he pulled himself from the broken grandstands as he had been blown into there from the sudden blast.

_Damn, how the hell did he live through that one? I know that blast had to have been more than he could handle!_ His grin had changed to a frown as he glanced at me and started to release his power. A dull gray aura poured out and I gasped as I got a good feel of his power level. It was in fact noticeably above the level of attack I just used, even more than infested Broly had been on Auir before the Overmind fusion. _Argh, no wonder it didn't do much, he's a hell of a lot stronger than I thought. And one lucky blast doesn't always win a battle, at the very least he felt that last one._ Janemba looked tired of my minor threat, and flew at me with an even higher speed. I phased out as he arrived, barely dodging his fist. When I landed in the ring though, I received one nasty kick to the back that likely broke something. I fell forward and slid to the edge of the ring, getting a painful reminder of my previous rib injuries. I tried to get up when a large foot stepped down on my back hard. I groaned as the foot pressed my insides into the ring, lighting up my pain receptors. I felt a heavy-duty ki blast forming in his hands, not quite as strong as he had been using so far. _So he can divide his energy up as well, great._ Judging by what I felt, he was forming it above his head and was waiting for me to struggle a bit more for the entertainment. _I have just enough Psi for one bolt, it'll have to do until I can think of something else._ I rolled over and quickly released this energy with a single finger pointed right at his blast, giving me a smaller explosion than I had hoped. I was able to sense the power output, noticing a serious decline in the potency. It did however get Janemba off of me long enough to move. I grasped the ring edge and used to surge forward and flip back around as I landed on the grass. He still looked unscathed, but a little more agitated that I had gotten away from him. He didn't have much time for sight seeing as Pikkon caught him off with a sudden kick to the back of the head followed by a furious ki blast assault. I gathered what ki I had left and prepared to take off before a strong arm stopped my progress. I growled as I glanced back to see a slightly battered Friezell standing behind me.

"Don't even think about it. Your attack failed, so we now have two options," he began.

"And those are?"

"Evacuate quickly, or stay here and fight him now. Getting reinforcements won't help any unless we could get you healed up somehow, or maybe get Goku and Vegeta up here for a little fusion. Happen to know anyone that could go get them?" he asked.

"Kibito Kai could help, but Goku and Vegeta are still in the Protoss dimension and he can't go there because of their rules I think. Isn't there some sort of Senzu beans or healers up here?" I asked towards King Kai, who just shook his head for a moment.

"In that case, there is only one weapon that can possibly stop this monster, and you will need to channel it! Use the Spirit Bomb!" he said, stepping forward.

"Wait a sec, King Kai hasn't shown me how to do it yet! Don't you know it from having Goku's cells?" I asked as he stopped.

"You'll have to learn on the fly. I could channel it, but then who is going to hold that creature off when he stops playing around? You're in no condition to do that. You need to hurry!" he said as he took off into the smoke cloud that Pikkon had generated. I glanced again at King Kai, motioning him over to lend me his assistance. The other Kais followed, obviously wanting in on Friezell's plan as well.

"I need your help King Kai," I said, powering down to normal form as he stepped closer.

"With what?"

"Teach me the Spirit Bomb so I can use it on Janemba," I said quickly.

"You can't use that! It takes a great deal of time to master the Spirit bomb! Just because Goku managed to do it doesn't mean you can just like that! It's too dangerous to be used by an amateur!" South Kai chimed in.

"Unless you can heal me or I'm allowed to use the Kaioken technique, its just about the only option left. That is unless you can contact Goku and Vegeta, but I'd bet you can't right now," I said, beaming slightly. King Kai shifted his antennae around in a vain attempt, but came up with nothing as he shook his head.

"But surely there's another option, I mean it's impossible to learn the Spirit bomb within minutes, even when it's done correctly!" South Kai argued.

"You want to fight him?" I asked with a frown, getting a quick no, "And besides, nothing is impossible! Unless you've got someone else around here who's going to do it, you might as well show me how it's done!"

"Well, if were going to do this we might as well do it right. Verto, I want you to stand here and clear your mind," King Kai said, pointing to the ground next to him. I did as he asked, though clearing my head wasn't a big deal as long as I wasn't distracted.

"Oh and you may want to power down to normal form, you are not going to be able to channel the pure energy with anger in your heart, no matter how clear your thoughts are," King Kai suggested.

"I suppose that would complicate things," I muttered as I powered down a bit more.

"Next, raise your hands and spread them shoulder-width apart along with your feet, much like how Goku did. Now here is the tricky part. Reach out with your senses and your mind and, ask for energy. Ask for it from all forms of life whether it be the fish in the sea, the sun or the trees. Those who hear your call will answer," he explained.

"Have you noticed everything here except for the grass and a select few, are dead?" I asked, cracking a slight joke.

"Doesn't matter. We'll tell everyone here to donate some of their energy. Since most of them are dead, you should be able to take a generous amount. The number one thing to remember is that when the energy comes to you, don't selfishly grab onto it, and let it flow through you. Keep your thoughts clear and intent on what you're doing," he said.

"I'll keep that in mind, I'm ready!" I said as I started to float upwards a bit. I broadened my senses a bit, reaching out to everything that I could feel nearby, most of which was already in the room. _Please, give me your energy so I can defeat this monster!_

**Interlude 13.1 –Hard Battle-**

Friezell managed to grin just a bit as he sensed the start of the Spirit bomb, but it's hard to smile when you get punched in the face several dozen times. He was forced backward by Janemba's latest assault and paused in mid air as Pikkon jumped back in. He scanned the potential power of the audience around as some of it began to surge towards the boy, and scowled right away. _Other than Pikkon, the Saiyan girl and myself, I'm not sure the energy from all the other fighters will even be close to enough. That means we would have to wear him down first, unlikely to happen at this rate._ He launched back towards Janemba as he forced Pikkon away again, drawing back a heavy punch. He hit air when Janemba dematerialized again and blasted him from behind.

"Blast it," he groaned out as he flew forward out of control. Friezell flipped back around quickly, seeing Janemba heading straight for him in the air.

He quickly charged up two fingers, "Death Beam Cannon!" The pink corkscrew beam hit Janemba straight in the chin, stopping him for a moment. Friezell's satisfied look melted into horror as Janemba only grinned as he brought his head back down, barely scathed. A punch found its way into Friezell's gut and almost into his spine before he even saw the monster move. Blood and spit flew out onto Janemba's face, who only licked it off with his tongue. Janemba spun quickly and lashed Friezell with his long tail, sending him back into the grounds below. _Bah, that's it, I've had enough of that thing!_ Friezell thought as he got back to his feet and started charging the big one. Janemba looked on with satisfaction as Pikkon approached him from behind, Kaioken aura going strong. Janemba turned to observe him going through dance like movements before he gathered the fiery blast.

"Thunder Flash Attack!" Janemba fired his own beam at the flame wave, causing a minor clash for a moment. The intensity of Pikkon's attack increased and literally ate the pink beam opposing it. Janemba was hit by the blast an instant later, looking a bit stunned that it happened. He flipped back around, a little flustered and scowling at Pikkon. Pikkon charged, only to see him dematerializing again. He ignored this and fired a blast anyway, causing Janemba to come flying out of thin air about twenty feet away. He charged again and scored a flying kick to the gut. This barely phased the monster though, and he grabbed a hold of Pikkon's leg before twirling him in the air like a merry go round. As he let go, he heard something arrive directly behind him, and then sensed the blast that hit him almost immediately.

"HAAA!" Friezell's Warp Kamehameha surged out and caught Janemba completely off guard as he was enveloped by the blast. The explosion and wave dissipated into the distance, but it only left a bruised and angry monster behind. His armor had been dented some more, and his power level dropped just a bit, but not much.

"Damn, what do I have to do?" Friezell asked himself as Janemba came at him again.

--

**Keeping calm and focused on gathering the Spirit Bomb** sure wasn't easy. And letting it "flow through me" wasn't easy either as I didn't have that much patience in clutch situations. But the energy did come from just about everything around the planet, though the other fighters hadn't given any extra energy up yet. They were too intent to watch the beat down of Friezell and Pikkon in the air. Once I allowed this energy to flow through and form into a small ball above my hands, I recognized the feel of the energy. It was the start of the Spirit Bomb of course, but it portrayed the positive energy just like my feedback technique, with purely Chi energy that is. _Note to self: Chi version of feedback equals small Spirit Bomb. _Once I had a good grasp of what I was doing I felt ready to ask for more.

"King Kai, can you use your telepathy to allow me to talk to everyone around the planet and Other World as well, I'm gonna need a bunch more here," I said.

"Go ahead Verto, everyone except those three can hear you! They've been through this drill before so you shouldn't have to deal with any non-believers!" he replied as his antennae flipped upwards. _Good, I don't want a repeat of needing Mr. Satan to change their minds._

"People of Other world, my name is Verto and I need your help. We're fighting a terrible monster on Grand Kai's planet and we need more help to beat it. Everyone raise your hands to the skies and offer some of your energy and we can use it to beat this monster. If you don't, we could all be in danger of being destroyed. Please, everyone raise your hands up now!" I said to the air, trusting that it would go through. I sensed the other fighters in the stands focus on me suddenly, knowing that the message had indeed gone out at least that far. Their hands slowly went to the air, and I sensed a good load of Chi energy flowing towards me from all directions. It arrived and the size of the Spirit bomb tripled almost right away before swelling even more so as more power came in from afar. I used the remaining ki that I had to lift into the air, so I didn't hit anyone in the stands, nor on the ground. More power arrived and I let it go right through me, adding to the bomb floating above my head. _And they thought this was going to be hard. Well it wasn't easy so I guess that counts. We still don't have enough power though._

"Keep it coming!" I shouted aloud with a slight grin. I sensed energy coming towards the planet from a pretty good distance away, and it felt like a mixed bag of species giving their Chi, some high amounts, some low. But coupled together it piled up nicely, most likely coming from all of the dead ones on other world. The bomb swelled even more, and the power from it was beginning to get close to what Goku's felt like on Auir. _This is almost good enough by what I've sensed, but I'll keep gathering whatever they send me just in case. It may not be enough in the end.  
_

"Come on, we need more energy to beat this guy!" I urged one more time. Another surge of power came through just as I sensed another presence arrive.

"So this is why we could hear your voice!" a voice belonging to that presence stated. I glanced behind to see Kibito Kai floating behind me, barely looking even somewhat concerned.

"You're a little late, we could have used you earlier rather than just being a spectator," I grumbled slightly, pulling in that last bit of energy that was coming in. The crowd of fighters has settled down quite a bit, their power levels taking a bit of a hit from donating energy. The energy in the spirit bomb compared to Janemba's was nearly equal, and I felt it was close enough to at least weaken him considerably.

"Well as you know we generally don't interfere in matters that don't concern us," he began.

"Don't bother explaining, but like Buu, this thing is a threat to everyone's existence," I said, seeing Friezell use instant transmission to drop a big Kamehameha on Janemba. _Well well, look who was still sandbagging against me, oh well I'm just as guilty of that. Too bad it probably didn't do anything. I guess we'll have to have a rematch someday. _The blast cleared, showing only an angry monster.

"Didn't you try your other techniques on this monster first?" Kibito asked, causing me to scowl a bit.

"You two really don't pay attention to any details outside your own objectives do you?" I asked as the spirit bomb flashed a bit once all of the power was above my hands.

"We didn't exactly see this in your future, or anyone else's for that matter. Something you did triggered this and we didn't have a clue, another reason you must be careful of your actions!" he warned.

"I destroyed Buu for you and King Yemma, that's all I did," I said as I saw Friezell drop from the skies, his power almost nil after a few more brutal hits. From what I could tell, he had been counting on that last blast to do the job.

"By using your powers, you may have affected the petty things just around this dimension that most would take for granted. We warned you that it could have a positive or negative effect on things. This is obviously the cause of destroying Buu the way you did down in Hell," he explained. _I don't need this crap right now._ I managed to keep somewhat calm while the huge Spirit bomb floated above, though Kibito Kai was pushing me a bit.

"Did you ever think that maybe it was because of Buu that this thing appeared? All I did was speed up the process of putting him through that cleanser thing, but King Yemma did that himself didn't he? It doesn't matter what I did, Buu was already a hindrance was he not? Now can you please move aside until I've destroyed this thing, I'll listen to your lectures later!" I said, floating upwards a bit more. Kibito seemed content to leave me be as I tried to win a battle. Janemba had now noticed what I had in my hands, and floated down till he was eye level with me. His scowl deepened, as he probably sensed that the bomb could hurt him.

"Time for you to go demon! Spirit Bomb!" I shouted as I threw my hands forward. He fired a quick blast to deflect it, no effect. His energy flared more so and pushed against the forward momentum of the bomb. It slowed to a crawl and I pushed back with my remaining ki power. It barely sped up and then came to a dull stop in mid air as I pushed it on with all my might, trying to keep calm as I did so. My ki drained fast just by trying to force the bomb forward. _Damn, no wonder this thing is hard to control once its launched. Keeping it on target is a pain._ The bomb began to waver back and forth until I sensed a large Chi surge from Janemba and watched as it crept back towards me. I released most of my remaining energy towards it, doing almost nothing to the motion of the bomb. _I can't let this energy get away. As long as I keep positive it can't hurt me, but I'm not sure I should try to absorb it unless I have to. I've got to pull on whatever reserves I have left!_ I pulled up all energy remaining, including whatever was keeping me locked in the air and sent it forth, barely budged the ball back towards Janemba.

"What the hell is wrong boy? Quit holding back!" Friezell shouted from below.

"Damnit!" I shouted as I struggled to push back against Janemba's will. I sensed Fasha's concern in the back of my mind, but it seemed to form into anger as she stomped towards the Supreme Kai. _Good, it'll save me the trouble._ I groaned a bit as the stalemate continued, I assumed Janemba was just sitting back and waiting for my influence to ease up, because I knew he could send it back at me at almost anytime.

"Why won't you help out? He needs you to at least lend a hand!" Fasha screamed at the Kai. I grinned slightly, _Yeah lay into him for me!_ I sensed Dabura nearby, watching the struggle in the air, but like the Kai was not doing a damn thing about it. I pushed more power out as Janemba's end began to waver, but I wasn't sure where the energy was coming from. No more spirit bomb power was coming in so it wasn't anyone else. _Maybe he's weakening after all._ I got my answer when his power surged again and the Spirit bomb came back towards me even faster.

"Shit, come on! Can't you heal me or something real fast?" I asked quickly as I felt myself losing it.

"I will not interfere, you need to fight your own battles! Don't you Saiyans prefer it that way, to the death before you ever ask for help?" he asked slyly. I growled at this, and Fasha's gloomy mood only added to it.

"What kind of Kai are you? Do you always just sit back and let others fight for you even if they have no chance to win?" Videl asked now.

"Pretty much, these warriors seem so determined to stop these evil threats, even though half the time they are the direct cause of them. Kids must grow up someday, and if everyone has to die first, then that's how it will go!" he replied with a very calm tone. I felt the rage from within kick on once he said that, and the Spirit Bomb came at me more quickly now that I wasn't focused on it. I didn't care at the moment as my aura reappeared.

"To hell with you then! Argh, I don't need your damn help!" I shouted angrily just as a sudden energy surge came over me. I grabbed a hold of this energy burst and brought it out. My Super Mystic transformation kicked on suddenly as if I had been holding back the entire time. I was just as surprised as everyone else in the arena, including Janemba. As soon as I realized what happened though, I shifted back to the monster and shoved a lot of the energy outwards. The bomb rocketed towards Janemba and struck pay dirt as he just hovered and screamed. The bomb's energy split outwards and tore through his body, likely taking everything else with it. His power signal faded quickly, but just as it was nearing critical for him, it erupted again and struggled with the spirit bomb for a few moments. He was suddenly forced to the ground by its energy just as it exploded. I gasped slightly as Janemba picked himself out of the grass while the air cleared, I had honestly thought I had him beat with the bomb. He started laughing slightly as he grinned back at me, to which I responded with a sharp growl.

I rescanned his power level, noting a huge drop in power, almost two thirds of it was gone. _Well that'll make things easier, but I've got to finish this guy off as soon as possible. I wonder…_ I suddenly stopped and grinned back as I charged another Chi ball in my palm, without calling out for donations. Just as my positive energy took hold, the ball turned light blue instead of green, and Janemba's eyes widened slightly, but his grin held. _Let's try that again!_

"Feedback!" I shouted, launching the much smaller bomb towards the demon. He laughed slightly and drew his arm back to deflect it. _Not the same technique, dumbass!_ I thought even though he was falling for the trap. The much smaller version of the Spirit bomb struck Janemba and he went down to a knee as the white lightning enveloped him. His power flowed out and he stood up slightly to attempt to flush it out, but was not doing so easily despite feeling rather emotionless. _So the enhanced version is also stronger. I'll keep that in mind_, I thought as I stalked towards him, drawing my energy sword.

Janemba's eyes filled with fear as I broke into a dead sprint, all intents and purposes of wiping him out with the next attack. His energy finally broke free and the Feedback ball soared off into the skies just as leapt into the air with my sword drawn above my head. He held out both hands as if he meant to catch the blade, but much wider. I sensed his power flare just as I dove in, and saw the visible distortion forming right in the path of my sword.

"I don't think so!" I shouted as I suddenly spun around as I dropped. Janemba wasn't sure what to make of this as I completely missed his counterattack, and wasn't prepared for me to slice across his neck, severing the head completely. Just as it fell off, leaving quite a surprised look I might add, his power level plummeted. I flipped backwards and charged the majority of my remaining power into my hand and aimed straight at him just to be sure he was done for good.

"Final Shine!" The green beam swallowed Janemba and his head, smashing and scattering his molecules into the wind. It also destroyed the far side of the stadium that had luckily been empty for awhile, leaving quite a gap in the asteroid we were on. The area where Janemba was started to shimmer slightly, before the golden sparkles collected into a blue ogre with a very scrappy looking suit on.

--

**I stared at my hands for a moment or two as I gasped for breath**, feeling a lot more power flowing through me than what should have been there, despite what I had just burned up. It wasn't anywhere close to my full power, but it was a noticeable fraction of it. I powered down and lowered to the ground just as King Kai, Fasha and Kibito walked up, all with grins planted on their faces.

"Did you heal me after all?" I asked.

"I didn't do a thing just as I said I wouldn't. You called on your own inner power at your own will, and it seems to have given you a bit of a charge. What was really holding you down the entire time was doubt in your power and abilities, that's all. You probably would have needed to use the spirit bomb, but you already had what you needed to get the job done once you gathered it. You just needed to let go and reclaim your wits. You do look pretty tired though, let me treat those wounds," he said, holding a hand over my head. I felt his Chi surge now and any pain left began to fade and I took easier breaths.

"So I unlocked more of my power, or what?" I asked.

"No, you were simply not quite to your limit yet. We said that you won't get any stronger for a long time, but using hidden power that shouldn't be there seems to be your specialty. You just needed a little motivation to get the ball rolling. Anger seems to work well, your eyes were glowing pretty brightly there for a second or two. Once you knew you could do it on your own it wasn't a problem now was it? Your girlfriend put on a pretty convincing show to assist you," Kibito said as he removed his hand. As he did, my teal colored uniform reformed itself around my chest and shoulders, not to mention the partially shredded pants. King Kai handed me my blue shirt and wristbands, to which I put back on right away, as I felt great.

"I didn't put on a show, how was I supposed to know you were just trying to fire him up?" Fasha asked.

"If I had said so before, he would have been able to hear it through your thoughts, assuming he was paying attention to them and not the battle," he explained, making the scowl on my face deepen.

"In other words that was another test?" I asked directly.

"Not exactly, we truly had no idea that Janemba would escape his prison, but you handled the situation pretty well except for that little bit at the end. My elder told you that you had the potential of doing great things, it's just a matter of finding that potential. Your power hasn't increased by any means, but your skill is excellent. Your confidence is still a bit shaken though, and plenty of training will help that out. You have to believe that you can do anything you put your mind to, and take it from a Kai, you can do just about anything if you really want to just on pure determination. Digging into your inner power will not require only anger, just some sort of emotional commitment. Trust your feelings and fight with your heart, not just your skill. Willpower can be an incredibly powerful force, use it to your advantage. As you yourself said before, nothing is impossible," he said, putting two fingers to his forehead.

"Hey, wait a second, what sort of training am I going to get now?" I asked. He glanced quickly to my right, which was where Dabura was before he smiled slightly.

"Nothing you can't handle. See you!" And in a blink of an eye, he was gone. I glanced over at the ogre that had been the embodiment of Janemba, though he looked like a young punk that would slack off on the job.

"So what is going to happen to him?" I asked.

"King Yemma will more than likely have him scrubbing walls for a hundred years," King Kai chuckled, though we all were mildly amused at this.

**Power levels:**

**Verto (SS2): 360,000,000; normal form: 60,000,000 (drops); Super Mystic (weakened): 280,000,000**

**Verto's Shock Cannon, Max Power: 750,000,000**

**Verto's Super Spirit Bomb: 800,000,000**

**Janemba: 775,000,000; weakened: 250,000,000**

**Friezell: 510,000,000 (drops)**

**Pikkon (w/ Kaioken): 350,000,000**

**A/n: Add Spirit Bomb to the massive list of stuff that Verto can do. You can also call it Super Spirit Bomb if you want, it doesn't matter. Another quick bad guy out of the way, but its only been a few days of Verto's six months in Other World, so don't be too concerned that all of his adventures will be just a bunch of quick little incursions.**

**Next time on DBV: As Verto starts his training with Dabura, Gohan and the other Saiyans are given a ride back to Earth by the Protoss, and run across a mine field set up on the other side of the dimensional wall. Since they are still too far away to use instant transmission, they must deactivate the mines to avoid destroying the ship. The only way to do so is to shut down the mines from wherever they are controlled. Vegeta reveals that the mines in fact belong to the Kold empire. Uh-oh.**


	15. Trouble in Space

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 14: Trouble in Space**

**We didn't see Dabura again for a few days, but that was expected**. He had taken a bit of a beating at the hands of Friezell, and then had burned up most of his energy keeping the arena safe before I had to interfere. I spent most of that time reflecting on what Kibito had said, about any emotion being useful when it came to using my power. He wasn't lying for sure, I already knew that positive and negative feelings could affect what my power did, but depending on any emotion didn't seem quite right. Anger and rage was the easiest one to do that with, but love and happiness just as important, and weren't easy concepts when in the middle of a battle. Either could be easy to use depending on the situation, but they could also keep me distracted. _I guess Old Kai wasn't kidding about keeping balanced with my emotions, striking a medium might be essential after all._ _Then again, that angry surge I had against Janemba proved very useful_. _I guess I'll have to approach every situation differently._ As I dueled with my own thoughts on the matter, Videl and Fasha sparred heavily despite fatigue. Well, heavily for Videl, Fasha didn't go Super Saiyan on her to keep it somewhat fair.

In other matters, West Kai had officially moved in for his week for slavery. King Kai had him doing all the house chores, but none of the cooking. Videl still hung onto that job primarily because King Kai usually had West Kai scrubbing his bathroom floor with a toothbrush at the time before the dishes piled up. It was very funny seeing the cocky purple Kai paying up for his end of the bargain. He did argue with what he was ordered to do a few times, until King Kai suggested that he meet Chichi. West Kai obviously didn't get the joke until Videl told him directly that she was Goku's wife and about the only one who could beat Goku on a regular basis. That kept all forms of resistance down to a mild grumble. I stayed away from him for the most part, but managed to keep entertained by leaving a few extra dirty spots on the side of the house before he came back around with the cleaning materials.

Shortly after breakfast on the third day after the tournament, Dabura finally showed up. He didn't say a word to anyone and elected to lean against the outside walls. I thought about approaching him, but since he wasn't doing a damn thing I opted to meditate instead. It wasn't until lunchtime that he actually bothered to move, never mind speak.

"I suggest you eat well. We begin your training once you are done," he said quickly, going right back outside. _About time he said something._ Once I was finished eating, I tightened my gi up slightly and stretched just a bit.

"Good luck, you'll probably need it," King Kai said.

"Maybe," I said.

"Just don't do anything stupid," Videl added.

I rolled my eyes slightly, "Gee, thanks for the confidence Videl!"

"Just stay safe, I can't help worrying when you're away, damn bond," Fasha replied angrily, looking the other way.

"Don't get sentimental on me now," I said with a tight grin as I headed out the door.

Dabura stood there waiting patiently, "Follow me!" He took off into the skies and I followed an instant later, heading towards the east.

"Where are we going?" I asked after about ten minutes of silent flight.

"Not far, but away from the distractions. I have a few training exercises for starters. The rest will follow suit once you complete them," he said without turning around. After a few more silent minutes we came across an ocean filled area. I didn't bother so say anything and just kept following until we came to a very small island. When we landed I took note that the island was barely larger than a living room. In fact I'm pretty sure that it was not even half as big as Master Roshi's island, and that was saying something. There was a single trap door sitting right in the middle, closed.

"This is where we are going," Dabura said, opening the door.

"Where does it lead?" I asked as he revealed a dark stairway. "It's similar to the design of tournament arena, except it leads to a different planet much like the one you visited when you fought against me before. And this planet is much harder to destroy than most mortal planets. It will be a suitable place for you to practice your more potent attacks without having to worry about superficial damage," he explained.

"How convenient," I muttered.

"You'll be thanking me later. I guarantee it," he said as his energy surged. I paused, but saw that he was focusing it around his left hand. A small metal rod formed there, barely two feet long and as thick as a standard pipe. Then the end of it lit up with moderately bright golden light, its low amount of energy coming directly from Dabura. _A torch?_

"Let's go," he said, walking down the stairwell. I glanced down to see that there was nothing but blackness below, noting that a torch would now be handy.

"Oh, and close the door, we don't need anyone following us," he said as stepped down once.

"May I ask why?" I asked.

"Yes you may. Your abilities have the potential to surpass those of normal mortals and several Kais and Gods as well. We do not need lesser beings learning anything they weren't meant to," he said as I closed the door.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but can they even learn them? And would they even be able to perform these abilities you speak of?" I asked just to test his so-called theory.

"Most of them wouldn't be able to, however information from one life to the next can slip through at times, and who knows what someone would be next time," he explained.

"So, assuming someone here is reincarnated, which would take how long by the way? What are the chances of them learning something they can't use and even come close to remembering it then?" I asked.

"Good question, but most beings can request it at any time, and not every reincarnation process is efficient enough to erase all memory. Most beings up here are happy enough with their current forms, but there are always exceptions and there are always spies looking in from somewhere. It's just a precaution," he said as he led the way.

"Whatever I guess," I muttered again.

We walked down probably about a mile's worth of stairs before I saw anything at all. The darkness continued except for Dabura's summoned torch, but the stairs came to an abrupt end for just a moment. Then about ten feet later they were back, going up this time.

"Got enough stairs?" I joked slightly.

"It's the crossing over between other world and this created dimension. And there are several traps between the door we went through and our destination. Those traps can sense the authenticity and energy of all that pass through this passage, determining who is worthy to have such a private level of training. The Grand Kai used to use this place quite often when he was actually training students, but quite often they didn't make it all the way through the passage," he explained, making me look all around for such things.

"And just where are these traps?" I asked.

"Do not be concerned boy, these traps only transport you back to other world when you reach the other side. I highly doubt the same will happen to you, unless of course you let it wear on your mind too much," he said with a slight turn of the head.

"And you just got done telling me that unworthy lesser beings might learn something they shouldn't by going through here. Doesn't that contradict everything you just said?" I asked, stopping. He stopped as well a second later, sighing slightly.

"You know, most sentient beings don't ask about issues that do not concern them, but I suppose you will let it wear on your mind if I don't answer, you certainly have every right to know. As I said, most beings up here may apply for reincarnation at anytime and sometimes memories are not erased during that process. Even if a pure and righteous being came through here, you never know what form they may become, and whether or not they will remain pure and righteous. Some of the most terrible beings to exist were once as righteous as your friend Gohan," he explained, walking forward once again. I followed once again, deciding that we needed a change of subject since he sounded so irritated.

"So what will I be learning?"

"First thing to know is that you are learning from me, not a Kai who worries about emotional overload. I could care less about your emotions, as long as you don't let them control you and do something foolish. You are here primarily to polish your skills, and perhaps learn a few more. You demonstrated during the tournament that you are ready for a higher school of energy-based skills. Your so-called Shock Cannon is a good example of this, I trust you understand how it works?" he asked.

"Yeah, I combined an equal amount of Psi and ki really fast, and it generated about five times as much power," I said quickly.

"You've got the basics down at least. The outside air also comes into play slightly, but only for that nifty little explosion. The extremely fast formation of Chi outside of the body combined with the outside air is what gives off that rather loud explosion. Your lightning storm technique combined with an energy beam is a very efficient way to accomplish this, although your miss-aimed sword throw was a good introductory attempt. Your first test is to find another option to use a powerful Chi attack with a minimal amount of energy that functions just like your shock cannon move, quick fusion of energy when it hits the opponent. I suggest you use an older technique that you've previously learned to do this. I doubt you want to go through the pain of setting up a Psi field around it when you don't have time, and it should be an extremely fast moving attack and maneuverable as well. Let's see what you can come up with," he said as he came to a stop in front of a similar looking door.

"We sure got up here fast," I said.

"Time flies when you're learning hard," Dabura said, drawing a frown from me. _Nice and dry humor, not that I expected anything more._

"At least it wasn't one of King Kai's jokes," I muttered as he opened the hatch. On the other side of the door was a brown and barren planet filled with very rocky terrain. I saw no plant life at all, nor sensed any around.

"Excellent, now that the little chore of passing the traps is done, I suggest you get to work. These mountains are extremely dense and resilient to most energy attacks, so don't worry about the landscaping. They are very susceptible to Chi explosions though, therefore you will likely know when you've done things correctly. So when you conjure up another way to a Chi attack as I have instructed, come and find me," he said, flying into the air and quickly into the distance.

"Great. Oh well. I'd rather do this myself, anyway," I muttered as I took a good look around.

**Interlude 14.1 –Crossing over-**

"Beep, Beep, Beep!" SMASH!

"Argh, come in!" Gohan shouted as he awoke. The door to his room slid open and revealed an amused prince of Saiyans.

"I see your sleeping habits aren't back in sync just yet. I guess it's a good thing that you've already broken that table lamp a few times, no damage to anything else. One would think you would have realized that the Protoss have no need for alarm clocks," Vegeta said with a tight grin.

"I don't understand why we need to go back to Earth based time already, we're not even halfway home yet!" Gohan whined as he sat up and yawned.

"You must always assume that you could be called to action the instant you arrive on a planet. If you are traveling without the aid of hyper sleep, you should always reset your sleeping hours accordingly to be at your best. Besides, we wouldn't want the great son of Kakarot on a lack of sleep right before a battle, now would we?" Vegeta laughed mockingly.

"I'll remember that when you're old and gray," Gohan muttered as he slipped his boots on.

"As for your theory about not being halfway through our trip, you are incorrect. We should be slowing down any minute now to slip through the dimensional barrier," Vegeta said, spinning on his heel and leaving Gohan to his waking up routine. Gohan grumbled a bit but complied with getting up, he did want to see the view again. He hadn't seen all of it last time because of the bomb that Frost had planted on the ship. He was still amazed that they had come so far so fast, but Fenix had explained that this was a much faster ship, and that Tassadar had dropped a subspace beacon only a week from the barrier that they could warp to instantly. Their general plan was to have Fenix pull top speed to get back to earth quickly, opting for instant transmission when they could use it. Gohan really didn't like the idea of being in another dimension when they knew that Frost was a potential threat to Earth. He felt the ship slow to a crawl just as the bridge signaled ready to enter the rip in space.

"Beep, Beep!" the doorbell rang.

"Come in," Gohan said with a slightly gentler tone this time. Goku strolled in just in time to see the barrier come alive with color.

"Enjoying the view son?" he asked.

"Yeah, I didn't get to see all of it last time so I didn't want to miss it this time," Gohan said, watching the blue and violet swirls start to surround the ship.

"Wasn't sure if you were going to wake up in time, looks like I was all worked up for nothing," Goku said with a slight smile. Gohan chuckled suddenly, drawing a clueless look from his father. "What is it?" Goku asked.

"So that's why Vegeta woke me today, you must have been distracted and didn't give him any effort in a sparring match," Gohan said, giving Goku the knowing eye.

"You know, I still can't figure out where you got so smart from," Goku said with a scratch of the head.

"Ask Mom or Grandpa Bardock, they might have a clue," Gohan grinned, looking back at the incredible scene.

"This is really neat, before all this I had no idea that another reality could be reached by spaceship. I always thought that you'd need something like Trunks' time machine or the Kais to get to another place," Goku said.

"Or a really bored wizard that lives in a cave," Gohan added.

"What is strange is how did Babidi's father - what's his name - know about this before he sent Buu to Earth? I mean it doesn't make much sense to have different dimensions that can access each other so easily. I understand how Babidi and Dabura knew, and how the Zerg and Protoss figured it out, but they couldn't have come across it by accident," Goku said a moment or two later.

"You've been around grandpa too much dad, to come up with that kind of question. Maybe we can ask the Kai's how it happened, if were allowed to know of course. Maybe it's a naturally occurring phenomenon, I seriously doubt that a wizard could have cracked a dimensional barrier with just his magic, but that's just my opinion," Gohan suggested, silencing the two for a few more minutes. The streams of light slowly came to a halt before flowing the other direction, signaling that they were past the halfway through.

"You think everything is all right back home?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure everything is just fine, try not to worry about it Gohan," Goku said, waving it off.

"Well, with that Frost character running around, you never know. Since we have no idea how strong he really is, I really don't feel good about leaving the Earth unprotected," Gohan said as they began to see the exit to the barrier.

"Oh, I'm sure the boys could have handled it if he showed up. If it'll make you feel better, I can try to contact King Kai in just a few minutes," Goku suggested.

"Please do," Gohan said, watching the bright white light flash once before normal black space emerged. Once out of the barrier, Gohan scanned the whole area, not feeling anything hostile. He scanned as far as he could, but he was much too far away to sense Earth or Namek. Goku appeared to be ready to contact King Kai, but seemed to be focused on something else for a moment.

"What is it Dad?"

"I'm not sure," Goku replied, leaving that extra serious look that didn't appear on his face very often. Suddenly the ship came to a screeching halt and was rocked by an explosion, sending the surprised father and son to the floor in a heap. Alarms tripped everywhere, and the lights dimmed to red momentarily.

"Come on, let's get up to the bridge," Gohan said, leading the way out the door quickly.

* * *

"Get a crew on that fire, I want it put out now! How much hull plating did we lose and where? Status on the engines? Bring our weapons and shielding online. Full scanners, we could have a potential enemy out there!" Fenix barked out orders and questions as Goku and Gohan entered the chaos that was the bridge.

"What's going on?" Gohan asked first.

"Something hit us, or we may have been fired upon. Either way we were unprepared for it so soon after leaving the barrier. It took out at least a portion of our port side armor plating," Fenix explained.

"Scanners read no ships near are current position Praetor, however there is a lot of debris-like objects floating around out there," an officer announced.

"Debris? Is it part of another ship?" Fenix asked.

"No praetor, I do not believe so. Punching up a visual now!" The view screen then displayed what looked to be a large metal ball with spikes all around.

"Sensors read a large explosive device inside each of these. There are more than 1,000 of them in the immediate area," the officer explained.

"A mine field? Somebody was expecting us," Fenix muttered, glancing towards Gohan. The door to the bridge opened shortly before Vegeta stomped through it. He took one look at the view screen and gave the Protoss a crash course in the art of swearing.

"I take it you've seen these before?" Fenix asked once Vegeta's anger level had dropped back down to seething.

"They are space mines used by the Kold empire. If that hit was any indication, I'd say the entire sector has been littered with them," Vegeta said with a deep scowl.

"Can they be deactivated or destroyed without setting them off?" Fenix asked.

"No. The only way to deactivate all of the mines is to infiltrate the nearest base and hack into the command functions. We can go out there in Raynor's spacesuits and try to blast them, but the explosive inside most of Kold's mines is more than enough to wipe out a planet. The first wave of mines are mild compared to that, we can expect the next ones to pack more of a punch. We can try to push through, but these mines are very sensitive to heat sources, I don't advise it. And I understand your weapons don't exactly have the best range for space battles," Vegeta explained.

"Is there any clear path around them, sub-commander?" Fenix asked.

"Not without taking more damage. There are gaps in this field, but I don't see how we would get through without being hit a few more times. Whoever planted these mines did so with knowledge of how much power our hyper drive and maneuvering thrusters put out," the Templar explained.

"There is likely over ten thousand of them. If Frost wanted to block our path of getting back to Earth, he would most likely do this since he did not have any idea when we would return. He's had plenty of time to prepare, Blast it! I should have wiped him out when I had the chance," Vegeta said angrily. Gohan took most of this information in, coming up with his own plan.

"You said we would have to infiltrate a base to override the command functions right? I don't see how we couldn't do that, we can just use instant transmission," he muttered.

"Yes, but can you sense where that base is? I didn't think so. We are still a long ways from any sort of civilization!" Vegeta barked as Gohan's eyes fell.

"Yes, but if we head out in spacesuits and fly at top speed, we should be able to get past these mines and get close enough to a base to just teleport over. Then we can find the command center and shut down the mines," Gohan suggested.

Fenix shook his head, "I'm not sure if you would have enough oxygen to last the trip. You said it took you a week to get here from that base before, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right," Gohan nodded.

"This ship's improved hyper drive could cover that same distance in a matter of hours, but we are talking about a least a light year from here, I doubt you all could fly that far and conserve your air at the same time," Fenix argued.

"Yeah, that could be a problem," Goku said, wondering what to do now.

Vegeta though got a slight grin on his face, "Not all of us are going to go. Only Gohan is!" Everyone glanced at Vegeta like he was nuts.

"Brat, do you remember what happened when we had to fight against those humans in space?" Vegeta asked.

"We had to use spacesuits and fight them out in space, until Verto showed up anyway," Gohan recited. Vegeta nodded and Gohan came to realization, "Oh of course, how could I forget!"

"Care to fill me in?" Fenix asked.

"Verto was able to survive in space in his Super Mystic form. If he can do it, I can do it," Gohan said.

"Exactly. You fly out with a space suit and try to go as fast as possible before you run out of air. Once you do, power up and motor it until you can sense the base. Once you get there, you will have to get inside and find the control console for the minefield. And you must keep your power down once there, you'll have every scanner and scouter going crazy if you stay powered up for too long! Once you deactivate the mines, they should all detonate and we will be able to pass through. You may have to stick around the base for a while until you can get that mine field shut off and sense our position again, or until you recover enough power to fly back and meet us. We will have to remain here, there are likely more mines than we know about, and navigation will be nearly impossible! Did you get all that boy?" Vegeta asked to be sure.

"Yeah, I understand, but why can't I just raise my power when I get there and have dad bring you and grandpa. I figured you would want to fight your way out of this one," Gohan said, slightly confused.

"Two problems with that. One, if Frost doesn't know where Earth is, I plan to keep it that way for as long as possible. We show up and wipe out the base, he will know that we are back, and we may not have another way out of there for a week. Stealing a ship would not do any good because Frost keeps tracking devices on all of his transport ships and very up to date record keeping. And I highly doubt you or Kakarot would be able to sense the Protoss without another Saiyan around whether they stayed here or were less than a parsec away. Secondly, if we did manage to get all of the mines down and get another ship out of there, we would be fighting them all the way back to Earth, if we made it with that ship intact. Trust me on this boy, I wouldn't send any soldier in there alone if I didn't think that he could accomplish the mission, not even your circus clown father!" Vegeta said with all seriousness.

"Gee, thanks. I feel so honored," Gohan muttered.

"I suggest you leave as soon as possible boy. Any more mines go off and they may detect us," Vegeta barked as Gohan walked towards the door.

**Next Time on DBV: Gohan departs and flies through the blackness of space, running out of air in about eight hours. Once he is pushed to it, he powers up to Super Mystic and hauls through the sector until he is able to board a nearby ship. He teleports there hides inside the airshafts to wait out the ride and avoid detection. Meanwhile, Frost's newest mercenary arrives and plans to depart for Earth.**

**CB: … **

**(That's the best response I can give when I see a review like that one)**

**Super Shaggy: I actually do have a list of all of Verto's abilities, both currently and in the future. The damn thing is long, even without the descriptions that go with it. And its been edited a bazillion times.  
**


	16. Infiltration

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 15: Infiltration**

Gohan sighed slightly as Bardock strapped his helmet on.

"Look at it this way, you'll get your peace and quiet out there with no Saiyan princes to wake you up," his grandfather said with a slight chuckle.

"This wasn't what I had in mind though. How long will I have for air?" Gohan asked, though he was sure he had been told already.

"According to the specs...about six hours as long as you don't expend yourself too much. After that, you're on your own until you get to the base, so I suggest you go as fast as possible until you get there," Bardock said, nodding slightly.

"I'm still not sure this is going to work. I know I should be able to breathe in space in Super Mystic form just based on the fact that Verto did it. But I've also never done it and never tested it. If I get into trouble, I won't have a way out until I get there," Gohan said as he took his first breathe of the synthesized air, reluctantly.

"In that case, maybe you should conserve it as much as possible by holding your breathe a minute at a time. But that could slow you down. Your call I guess, just don't die on us out there," Bardock warned, backing through the door to the airlock to join his own son.

"I won't, grandpa," Gohan said as the door closed.

"Good luck son!" Goku called out, waving behind the window. Gohan gave him a small salute as the door to space opened, sucking out the atmosphere and allowing Gohan to float outside the ship. Once out of the ship, he glanced at the panel on his wrist, giving him the direction that he needed to go. He took one more look at the Protoss ship before powering up slightly and flying into the blackness of space, keeping a good distance from any of the mines that stood in his path.

-

"You have five minutes of air remaining," the computer beeped an alarm to Gohan's headset. _Whoa, it's hard to believe it took me this long to run out of air. _Gohan was somewhat satisfied with his progress, he had traveled quite a distance and had saved himself an extra two hours of air by taking deep breaths and holding them for about thirty seconds at a time. It helped keep his mind occupied while he flew through space, but it quickly got dull. He had traveled about one-and-a-half parsecs in just shy of eight hours according his wrist computer panel. He had burned up a large amount of ki energy, but he still had more than enough to transform when he needed to because he elected not to go all out with his flight speed. He had also had several close calls with the space mines. Some of them he narrowly missed, and others he came a bit too close and got locked on their targeting computers for a little while. Fortunately for him, he wasn't a sitting duck like the Protoss ship had been, and the mines returned to their original positions a few seconds after picking him up. _I hope they don't have scouters onboard those mines, picking me up as I rip through here would be pretty easy._

"Warning, final minute of air," the computer beeped again. Gohan sighed, coming to a stop in an empty area of space. _I guess it's now or never. I hope this works, otherwise I'm in for a world of trouble._ He quickly pushed all of his energy together and brought it to the surface, seeing his eyes turn blue and his hair silvery gray in the helmet reflection. Once his transformation was stable, he heard the last of the air empty out and got a nice little alarm from the computer. He tried to take another breath and found that there was in fact no air in his suit. _Damnit, it didn't work. Or maybe it doesn't work in space suits. After all Verto didn't have a suit on, and this thing is damn near skintight._ He exhaled whatever was left in his lungs in the form of another sigh, before uncoupling the helmet and exposing his head to the coldness of space. Right away he felt warm air rushing in, instead of out. _Wow, it works after all. _Deciding that he was better off without his helmet now, he tossed it to the side and watched as it flew harmlessly away. He did feel a little chilly, but found that his aura was keeping this generated air warm. _Guess I better get moving._ Gohan now flew off into the distance at a slightly faster pace, showing up as a thin silver-white missile rushing through the black and empty environment.

-

It was another two hours before Gohan sensed anything, and according to the computer, almost another full parsec worth of distance. He was only able to see one planet from where he stopped, but he could sense some very feint power levels further into the system not quite enough to lock onto. A loud bang went off directly in front of him, and he had to quickly duck when a large ship suddenly emerged, no doubt coming out of hyperspace to arrive in the system. The engines nearly burned off his suit, but he managed to get down and under the ship, finding a spot to hold onto on the underbelly. He felt more small power levels in the ship above, and decided that it might be better to teleport inside the ship. He scanned over all of the small powers in the ship, looking for the smallest and most deserted one. He quickly locked on and teleported through, finding himself floating above a soldier in bed. Gohan winced slightly in panic and descended to the floor, scanning around for other life forms. Once confirming that he didn't sense anyone nearby, he took a good look at the soldier that he almost woke up. It had a purple shaped head with green spots and some strange looking ears, not unlike some of Frieza's minions. He then saw that this soldier was wearing similar armor, and deduced that he was at least on the right track.

A loud alarm then suddenly sounded, "Intruder alert!" The room flashed with red and Gohan made a mad dash for the nearest dark corner. Once situated behind several objects, he powered down to normal form quickly and suppressed his energy all the way down. Vegeta had warned him that this could happen when he teleported in, and now it appeared to be true. The soldier woke up almost immediately, his scouter beeping even louder than the alarm.

"What's going on?" he asked into it. Gohan strained to overhear the conversation, almost knocking things over the process.

"Ensign Banan, we detected a high power level suddenly appear on the ship in your area. Can you confirm?" the voice from the scouter said. Banan switched on its scanning mode, which also turned on a small flashlight as he scanned around the room. Gohan quickly ducked as the light shined on his area, hugging the wall and holding his breath.

"No, I'm not picking up anything. Must have been a glitch in the sensors. May I suggest, sir, that we have them tuned up when we arrive? This isn't the first glitch we've had," Banan replied, shutting off the flashlight.

"I will have it looked into, but just in case I want you and a team to completely sweep the area. Lord Frost wants all ships to be swept whenever an Intruder alert goes off, even if it is false! The last thing we need to hear about is how we were transporting one of his top agents and failed to identify a potential intruder. I doubt he would let us live it down, if we lived at all!"

"Yes sir," Banan said, not sounding very enthusiastic. He walked towards the door with a scowl on his face as Gohan watched from the shadows. "God damnit, I just want to get to the bar already. This pointless escort bullshit is getting old," Banan muttered as the door opened.

"Get a scanning team in here, the captain wants the entire area checked. Yeah, some damn glitch again, I don't know why it does this…" he said as the door hissed shut. Gohan sighed with slight relief at his good luck, but then decided that he probably shouldn't stay in the corner for much longer. He looked around the room for anything he could hide under, but then spotted a covered airshaft along the side of the wall. He dashed for it, feeling little to no air coming from it. He tried to gently pry it from the wall, but found that it was uncoupled already. He heard murmuring in the halls and decided not to stick around to hear the rest of it. Keeping his power as low as possible, he crept into the airshaft and pulled the cover back on just as the door opened.

"I don't see why we have to double-check everything when there's a sensor glitch. What a waste of time," one soldier said as he entered the room. A loud beep went off, causing Gohan to double-check his own power level to be sure it was at a satisfactory level of non-existent as he slipped around a corner and completely out of sight. He saw a light flash down the entrance to the airshaft just a moment later.

"Everything here looks clear, sir!" Banan called out a few minutes later as Gohan slid through the tunnel. He came to an empty junction and relaxed just a bit more. As he came to a stop, he swore he smelled something that rather bad. He also sensed several presences directly below, making him believe that he might actually be above the mess hall, but also swallowing his appetite in the process due to the stench. He crawled onward to the next junction, before rubbing his eyes and taking note of how tired he was. _Man, flying through space really took it out of me. Then again I don't think I've ever flown that far before._ _I better take a nap before I do anything else, hopefully staying cramped in this crawl space will keep me from getting somewhat relaxed and keep my power down._ _Besides, I'm not going to get anywhere with them checking all over the ship, I should wait here until they dock._ With that thought, Gohan carefully fell asleep quickly, slight exhaustion taking over.

**Interlude 15.1 –Mercenary-**

"My Lord, supply and arms ship number 73 is requesting a tune-up of their sensor and scanning systems. They docked an hour ago and reported a glitch in their equipment just as they entered the star system. Some sort of false intruder alarm," an armored officer said to a purple and white figure in a chair.

"Is that a fact. A false intruder alarm just as they exited hyperspace, an oddly timed glitch, wouldn't you say?" the figure said, spinning around to stare down the officer.

"Yes, Lord Frost. I volunteer to confirm this error, it sounds like rubbish to me as well," the officer said and bowed slightly.

Frost grinned and took a sip of wine, "Yes make sure every part of that ship is checked. It may in fact be nothing as we haven't heard or detected anything from the minefield yet, but one can never be too careful."

"Yes, of course, my Lord," the officer bowed again and turned on his heel. A loud explosion suddenly went off from the far side of the base.

"Find out what that was immediately!" Frost ordered, getting a quick nod as the door to his chamber opened.

-

A dark haired figure stalked through the base towards Frost's chamber, a thick grin on his face as he did so. Several soldiers stood in his way, some firing their arm blasters, some only threatening. The evil figure mowed through them with little regard, throwing them aside and killing several that refused to move out of the way.

"Stop, state your purpose!" one officer shouted, standing right in front of Frost's door.

"I'm here to see Frost, my business is my own, worm! I suggest you get out of the way before you meet with an, unfortunate accident that many of your comrades ran into!" the dark figure said, lifting his hand with an energy blast charged and ready to go. The officer didn't move, and paid for it when he released the blast. The only thing left was a pair of smoking boots and a reinforced door that had been knocked down. Another soldier came up from behind and attempted to lock in a headlock around his head. The figure growled and snatched the guard's head and sunk his fingers in. The guard screamed as blood burst out from his skull as it was crushed, and then fell silent as the visitor threw him backwards, bowling over another dozen guards. Frost spun in his chair with a deep scowl on his face, swishing the wine glass around in one hand as he stared down his potential opponent. The dark haired figure stomped in, but stopped ten feet away as more troops arrived and surrounded him, but not advancing.

"So, am I still hired for the position you spoke of, Lord Frost?" the figure said with a deep grin that didn't fit his face.

"That you are, Viro. I see you have taken a new host. I trust this one is more to your liking than the last?" Frost replied with his own grin.

"Unlike Ginyu, I am extremely particular about what form I am in, and I am never satisfied with a standard level of power like Frieza wanted of his troops. I can understand why your father would want his flunkies to be much weaker than he, but that doesn't cut it in the real universe. I always aim high and never settle for less. Besides, my last mission required using a child as a host, a detestable experience to say the least," Viro explained, glancing at a nearby mirror.

"Yes, I too despise a child's attitude, something my father never seemed to rid himself of when it counted. You can call off the troops now, commander! Viro won't hurt you unless you are in his way, as you now know," Frost ordered. The hundred or so armed soldiers that had piled up now bowed and departed one by one, leaving the two alone.

"A very - bold form you have taken. No doubt it has to do with the specifics of your mission, but I didn't think you would take one so - powerful, this quickly," Frost said in slight admiration.

"Like you said my lord, I am efficient. That's why you sent for me, is it not?" Viro said with a bow now.

"That I did. As I said before, you are to go to a small blue planet called Earth, located in the Northern quadrant. I want all of the Saiyans on that planet destroyed. I suggest you modify your tactics a bit before you decide to act, let them approach you first so you can get them all at once. I learned that some of them are dead and can be wished back to life by a magic known as the dragonballs, I trust you have heard of those by now?" Frost asked, getting a quick nod.

"That I have, no doubt Lord Frieza was looking for them on planet Namek before it was destroyed, when the first report of the Super Saiyans came in," Viro said.

"Do not let that cloud your judgment, I have no idea whether those balls exist on earth or not. Find out what you can, but do not concern yourself with it. Your mission is to take out the Saiyans as efficiently as possible, and if they can indeed be wished back to life, make sure you get all of them at once. I don't care if you have to use that special ability of yours or not, I want them all dead. Do not risk a legend of magic balls getting involved, by either yourself or if the Saiyans should use it to wish themselves back to life," Frost ordered.

"What about the Earthlings?" Viro asked.

"I do want a majority of them alive, they would make excellent slaves to expand the empire, and frankly to sell, as our profits have been suffering. However, I hear they are genetically compatible to Saiyans, with a few exceptions, such as strength. If your little virus kills them off as well, so be it. We can't afford to risk Saiyan DNA surviving in that pitiful species. While one would think that the blood would be diluted, do not underestimate the power of a half-breed. Gohan, the son of the Saiyan Goku, is an example of this. Just before my family went to Earth, they told me of that little son of a bitch's power at such a young age. To say it has grown over the years is putting it mildly. I've got enough half-breeds running around as it is, I don't need a potentially more powerful set of them. Proceed to your own discretion in according to my wishes, and make sure those Saiyans are destroyed for good inside a year! One of my scout teams will check on you then," Frost said as he turned around in his chair, signaling the conversation over. Viro stood tall and spun, heading for the door.

"Oh, and I'll make sure that the minefield is deactivated and that the Protoss ship makes it to Earth and back, assuming all of the Saiyans either died or came back through. No doubt Vegeta could figure a way around that, but we'll keep that door open for them in a day or two. And I don't want the Protoss to interfere in matters that are not they're own, the mines will be put back into place once they leave this dimension. I trust that you'll find your way to Earth in the process," Frost said with a chuckle.

"It's already done," Viro exclaimed as he motioned to leave.

"One last thing Viro, I want you to personally handle the destruction of Goku. I want him to suffer. Do not make his death a quick one, for he does not deserve it for killing my father. You'll have a bonus if you keep his head for me. Handle the others as you desire," Frost ordered. Viro nodded and left the chamber just as the commander came back through it.

"My Lord, are you sure it's wise to trust him, given his background? He may try to overthrow you someday, or perhaps use the Saiyans to do so! Shouldn't we deal with such potential threats?"

"Relax commander, we will cross that road when we come to it. For now, he's just another mercenary for hire, I have no real reason to consider him anything more at this point. This mission will test his loyalty. If it becomes a problem, I will deal with him. That is why I train so hard. And that is why I hired Viro long ago, as he is much like myself. Unlike the rest of my family, I want to maximize my power as much as possible, rather than believing that my power is the best that it gets much like my father did. He was the most foolish one of the family, but my uncle Cooler and grandfather Kold allowed themselves to be killed by the same legend that my father failed to deal with. I will not fall to the same weakness," Frost said, switching on a few monitors.

"What if the Saiyans, ahem, come here to deactivate the minefield?" the commander asked, clearing his throat a bit.

"I doubt they will stay long even if that happens. Until then, you can expect Viro to hang around for a few days. Stay out of his way, and if he asks your soldiers for anything, he gets it, understand?" Frost ordered with a deep grin.

"Understood, my Lord!"

---

Gohan jumped slightly as he woke up, as if he was having a bad dream. He felt a bit sweaty in the airshaft, and his head was pounding in tune with his heartbeat. He noticed that horrible smell again and decided to move onward. _Man what kind of dream was that? The fight with Cell was so long ago, but I don't think I ever had a dream about murdering him in cold blood. Not the first time I've had a dream about being a little out of control, but not with that pure intensity. I wonder who those other guys were in my dream, they didn't look familiar. Then again I never sleep well in cramped spaces, I guess I should count myself lucky that nothing happened and I haven't been discovered yet._ He crawled through the tight space, sensing all of the rooms around him and scanning for any and all power levels nearby. He noted that there were a large amount of small power levels moving around the corridors nearby. _That must be the traffic getting on and off the ship._ He came to an empty room at last and peered through the grate, confirming that no one was there. He suddenly thought he heard something behind, but saw nothing. Sighing, he focused on the ground below with his Psi energy, teleporting through the metal and into the room. He opened his eyes wide though to discover he was in the laundry room where all of the bodysuits and armor was. _My luck is a little too good today._

As this luck would have it, the door suddenly opened as a soldier came through. Gohan planted himself on the ceiling lightning fast, clinging to it and trying not to make any sudden sounds. The soldier walked through, oblivious to the fact as he took off his helmet and removed his gloves. This soldier was a bit larger than the others, and Gohan eyed the uniform as a possible disguise. He suddenly felt a slight breeze come through the airshaft, and the dust from it invaded his nose. _Oh no, not now! Mustn't sneeze, mustn't sneeze, mustn't sneeze!_ Gohan held his natural processes back for a moment, but couldn't stop himself from getting the dust out of his nose. Just as the soldier reacted to the sound, Gohan rushed him and grasped his neck with both arms. Before he even thought about it as anything more than a reflex, he turned the neck to the side and received the crunching sound. He dropped the soldier right away and stared at his hands before glancing downwards in slight sorrow.

_That was stupid, why did I do that suddenly? That doesn't help me or my situation. I've been around Vegeta too much. I'm sure he or Grandpa would have done the exact same thing._ The soldier below didn't budge, and Gohan felt his small ki vanish.

"Sorry," he said before examining the body further. The general build of the soldier was very similar to Gohan's, though Gohan was a bit bigger in that regard. _That shouldn't matter, the spandex and the armor should go on just fine, and with a helmet I can blend in nicely._ Gohan quickly removed the armor and suit, but one sniff of the spandex told him that he really didn't want to wear it. _I don't think I have time to wash this before someone shows up again, when in Rome I guess._ Gohan removed his spacesuit, and placed it over the dead corpse before putting on the black suit and armor. _Good, it fits just as well as last time, hopefully this helmet does too._ Just as he had the helmet in his hands, the door slid open and a low gasp escaped the throat of a smaller soldier with a hand blaster. Gohan's eyes widened as this soldier stared at him, and the partially covered corpse on the ground. Gohan thought he would be in for trouble whether he moved to stop this soldier or not, but instead the soldier only backed off.

"Don't hurt me, I apologize for interrupting you!" it squeaked before departing in a big hurry. As the door closed, Gohan stood there stunned at the fact that the little guy ran off after clearly seeing his face. _Vegeta did mention that not many of these soldiers may remember what a Saiyan is supposed to look like, maybe this one just mistook me for someone else. Still, I better not take a chance at all of them being the same way._ _I wonder what he thought I was doing though._ As Gohan slid on the helmet, it immediately beeped as the scouter inside kicked on.

"Number 386, why aren't you at your post?" a loud and angry voice sounded. _Great, why me? I don't even know what this guy sounded like_ _before I killed him! Argh, stupid me, stupid me!_

"Ahem, sorry sir! I was using the facilities!" Gohan said in a meek sounding voice, as unthreatening as possible.

"Wow, you finally learned how to use a toilet? Good, we get tired of that constant stench that follows you around, take your time, please! Bwhahahaha!" the officer said as the communication was cut. Gohan's face reddened as he scowled at his reversed fortune.

"If it wasn't for bad luck I'd have none at all," he muttered as he slipped the white gloves. As he walked towards the door, he suddenly remembered the dead body on the ground. Without thinking it over, he quickly blasted the body and the spacesuit, leaving nothing but a slight burn mark. To his great relief, no alarms went off, and he strode into the hallway carefully. He heard another weird sound from the rafters, but again he saw and sensed nothing there but calm air. _I must be losing it, or worse, I'm getting claustrophobic. No more air shafts for me._ Gohan dismissed this and walked through the busy halls with eyes open and power level down, getting some very weird, and very annoyed looks from the traffic. It didn't take long for him to realize something was wrong. _Wait a damn second, I recognize this place! This is the base! How in the hell did I get here?_

**Next time on DBV: Gohan carefully moves about the base and blends in as best as possible. All the while he is not discovered by any of the locals, and is generally ignored. While eating at a bar, he helps out a girl who is being mistreated by the soldiers and enlists her help in getting access to the minefield control room. This is no ordinary girl though, and a tail is the proof.**


	17. Lenz

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 16: Lenz**

There was no doubt in Gohan's mind, he was in the Frost's base. The only question was how he got in there. _I know I fell asleep in the rafters of that ship, so there's logically no way I should have woken up in the base without teleporting here first. Unless its some sort of ship that adds on to it or something._ Gohan's eyes quickly darted to the faces of Frost's guards along the sides of the hallways, they seemed nervous as they occasionally glanced back. Gohan considered stopping and asking for directions, as he had no clue where to go, but he knew that would gain suspicion.

"Well, hello there handsome!" a voice said from the side. Gohan turned slightly to see he had come by the room that Vegeta referred to as the whorehouse. Vegeta's words were completely true at best, that's exactly what it was. It had been closed down during their visit last time, but most of the base was closed off at that time. One particular humanoid girl with short, spiky purple hair and lightly tanned skin was waving him on, barely wearing anything. That wasn't saying much though, neither were the other six females, she was the only one that Gohan would consider pretty.

"Take me to your quarters, I promise we can have a good time! Fifty percent off for the first hour!" she claimed. Gohan eyed her carefully, noting that she barely looked sixteen years old by his estimate. _That's a waste of a life, but I doubt she volunteered at that age. _Gohan politely said no and moved on, getting a quick response about the bad smell that followed him around. _Okay, enough about this bad smell, I need to find another uniform, this one is horrible._ Gohan immediately looked for another laundry type of room, cursing himself for not waiting it out before. He spotted a computer nearby, where another soldier from a ship was inquiring about the location of his new crew quarters. Gohan strode up and entered the number of the soldier he had killed, figuring that he must have at least one clean uniform. Upon receiving the location, he tracked it down, trying to keep his eyes away from everyone that stared at him. After weaving through a long corridor with thousands of people, he found the crew quarter area and proceeded from there. It was easy enough locating the right room, they all corresponded to the soldier number. When he entered though, the foul stench increased in intensity from all of the dirty and soiled uniforms left on the floor. _Man, didn't this guy ever use the shower, or the toilet for that matter? What kind of grown person just craps their pants all the time?_ Gohan didn't bother thinking up the answer about the disabled and unfortunate beings in the universe, it still didn't take away from the smell. Gohan searched through the loose drawers, finding one clean uniform in the batch and taking the dirty one off right away. He located all of the horrible smelling uniforms and vaporized them all, immediately noticing the stench in the room go down a bit. He took notice that the room did have one small shower in the corner, and he quickly made use of it to get the horrible smell off. The only problem was that he couldn't figure out how to get the water temperature up from freezing cold. He remembered the showers here being a little odd to work, but hot water hadn't been a problem. Then he recalled Vegeta saying that the soldiers got the basics of needs, which probably didn't include hot water. He considered powering up to eliminate most of the odor, but that would lead to the alarms going off, and no one needed that on a spy-type of mission. _Oh well, things couldn't get much worse could they?_ On cue, Gohan's stomach growled.

-

After drying off and changing into a much cleaner uniform, Gohan once again found himself wondering the halls, first searching for the nearest mess hall, and then the control room. He found another computer mounted on the wall and found several eating areas, though most of them would be filled with soldiers that might identify him. He chose the one that was near where he was, finding that it was a more diverse environment with a lot of random species drinking their problems away. _Perfect, surely no one will recognize me in here._ He turned out correct and no one did see him as anything but a soldier when he sat down at the bar. He was about to take his helmet off when a couple of soldiers wondered in. Before he had a chance to order his food, these soldiers started making plenty of commotion.

"What the hell kind of establishment is this? This booze is the worst shit on the market! Don't you have anything that will actually quench my thirst?" one soldier with a red and spiky head shouted at the bartender. Gohan thought he looked disturbingly familiar to one of Frieza's old goons that he had faced off with.

"Hey, dancer girl, come here and entertain me!" another shouted, looking exactly like the soldier that Gohan had almost bumped into when he entered the ship.

"Hey Banan, have you ever been with one of these girls before? They are some of the best ones around!" the pink head declared.

"Afraid not, I always heard that they carry a lot of rashes. Only good thing about them is their looks, she looks to be more your type, Kodoria!" Gohan snorted slightly at the name, _must be his twin brother or something, just as weak either way._

Kodoria laughed loudly "Come on man, you need to get laid!"

Banan looked disgusted though. "I'm not catching anything from this chick. Her race is known to carry Hatchels. Why don't you take her back to your bed?"

Kodoria spit out his wine right away. "No way, the only time I would ever be caught in the sack with one of those bitches is if I'm on my death bed! My people have enough problems with that ya know!" The girl scowled as she began her dance, glancing towards Gohan just as he looked back. He recognized her to be the girl that called out to him in the hallway, wearing even less. He couldn't help but let his eyes wonder downwards and occasionally back up, as she was a very beautiful and "well endowed" girl, despite being so young. She also had a dark purple tail that curled up occasionally as she danced for the pale-headed soldier.

Banan grabbed her rear and she slapped his hand off right away. "No touching allowed!"

Banan didn't have the best reaction. "I do what I want, when I want, bitch!" Banan grabbed her chest this time and she smacked him across the face instinctively before dismounting quickly and backing off.

"Looks like this one still has some fire from when she was captured," Kodoria said as the girl backed away, slightly frightened. Gohan took more notice to the events in the room, a little more interested in what may occur. Banan rubbed his reddened cheek off a bit before raising his arm blaster.

"We'll see about that. You know the punishment for attacking a soldier of the empire, don't you? You'd better start kissing my feet right now and I might forget about this incident!"

"So sorry sir, I'm new here," she apologized as she dropped to her knees.

"That's right you little whore, you lick my boots spotless!" Banan laughed at the disgraced girl. His face however erupted in pain when the girl appeared to have accidentally head-butted him in the family jewels. Kodoria burst out laughing as Banan suffered and hobbled on his feet a bit, giving everyone a heavy dose of entertainment. Gohan however saw things differently, the girl had her head quite close to Banan's private area, but she quickly punched him there with three stiff uppercuts faster than anyone else noticed before pulling back. _That's no ordinary dancer, that is for sure_. Banan hobbled around a bit as the girl stood back up with a deep scowl. Kodoria's laughter was easily the loudest as his partner knocked over a few tables, howling in pain before slowly recovering. The humiliated look on his face turned to fury as he thumbed the switch on his blaster and pointed it right at the girl. An immediate hush followed while the girl froze in fear, seemingly knowing that she was dead meat now.

"Say goodbye, you little wench! I hope you enjoy your stay in hell!" Banan shouted as he fired. The girl ducked under the blast and sprinted towards Banan, knocking the surprised soldier over with a fierce roundhouse kick. Gohan scanned their low power levels just for the sake of interest, finding that the girl was a bit stronger than Banan, but had very little ki energy flowing through her, meaning she probably didn't know how to control energy yet.

Kodoria's laughter continued. "This is rich! You're getting beat down by a stripper!"

"Shut it!" Banan shouted back as he tried to punch the girl. She caught the fist easily and curled up his wrist tightly until she heard a definite snap. She then let go and kicked hard, striking the broken limb. Banan shrieked in pain as his wrist had been shattered, and held the injury close to his stomach. What he didn't notice was that the girl had picked up his blaster and had pointed it at him.

"This will teach you not to touch the girls!" she proclaimed, firing the blaster. It hit Banan directly in the chest and went straight through, piercing his heart and killing him. The girl looked very surprised that this happened, until she looked at the setting and discovered it was turned up to the maximum. She didn't even have to look, Kodoria was right behind her, and he wasn't smiling anymore.

--

Gohan tensed himself a bit, knowing that if he should get involved that he would risk discovery. But the purely good heart in him didn't care, like his father, he would certainly step in when others needed help. _I need to move fast and get her out of here before anyone notices something wrong._

"He might have been a weakling, but he was still a soldier of the empire. And you are a slave - therefore, you're dead, little girl!" Kodoria said, cracking his knuckles a bit. Gohan sized up their power levels, though he really didn't need to, Kodoria was far stronger than this girl was. She seemed to be quite skilled in melee arts, but he doubted that she knew anything about manipulating energy. Gohan phased out quickly and struck Kodoria in the back of the head with a solid knee, then grabbed the girl and sped out of the open bar door before anyone even blinked. Kodoria's face was left awestruck as he dropped to the ground, out cold. The bartender looked around for what may have happened, but only saw fluttering napkins near where Gohan was sitting. The girl barely had time to blink herself before she was standing in a rather smelly room while Gohan checked the hallways.

"How in the hell did I get here?" she asked suddenly.

"Sorry about that, but that big guy was about to kill you. He'll be seeing stars for awhile, you're safe now!" Gohan said as the door closed.

"Wait a sec, you're that guy that brushed me off earlier. You don't smell so bad now, but this room reeks!" she said, fanning the air away from her face.

"It's not my room, I'm just using it for the time being. The smell was here before I was," Gohan admitted, almost slapping himself for saying that.

"Oh, well no matter. My hero needs a reward then," the girl said, coming closer.

"No, no, that's not necessary," Gohan said nervously, backing up as she pressed forward.

"The strong, shy type eh. Don't worry, I may be young but I know how to please a man. You don't need to do anything, this one is for free!" she cooed as he backed into a wall.

"But I don't even know your name!" he said in a panicked voice.

"Lenz, what's yours tough guy?"

"G-Go-Gohan," he stuttered. As she reached for his helmet, Gohan jerked backwards a little too hard, and the helmet shattered instantly against the wall. Lenz backed away from the scattered debris, but then gasped as she saw Gohan's full face and hair.

"You're a Saiyan!" she gasped. _Oh great, I save someone that ends up identifying me!_ Gohan growled a bit but only at himself.

"Incredible. I didn't actually think that there were any full blooded Saiyans left, but here you are!" Lenz said, almost in admiration.

"Hold on, how could you tell I was a Saiyan just by my face and hair?" Gohan asked.

"Well, the speed was a good hint. The face and hair are very similar and not many Saiyans could stand to wear helmets because they often break with any contact against their thick skulls!" she admitted. _So the helmet was pointless after all,_ Gohan thought, shaking his head at this revelation.

"So, Saiyan, what are you doing here? You do know that Lord Frost will likely kill you if he discovers you. Why are you here?" Lenz asked with all seriousness.

Gohan took a deep breathe, "Well, since I saved your life, could you help me find the control room for Frost's space mines? I need to deactivate them so my ship and my family can get home! That's why I am here," he explained.

"Seems fair enough, though I figured that you were just here to try to kill Frost. Most Saiyans try that instead, the grudge against the empire has continued ever since planet Vegita blew up years ago. Trust me though, it isn't worth trying! He's a million times stronger than his father Frieza!" she said sternly.

"I know he's pretty tough, but don't worry. He's strong, but he isn't a million times stronger than his father...Did you say that other Saiyans have shown up here?" Gohan asked once he realized what she was implying.

"You mean you don't know that whole story? You must be from a far-off place! Ever since Frieza and King Kold were killed - everyone knows about that once Frost made the knowledge public!"

"All I know is that Frieza destroyed most of the Saiyan race when he blew up planet Vegita all those years ago. There were only six Saiyans left and my dad was one of them," Gohan recited.

"No, there were many more than six Saiyans left. There was actually over a hundred of them, all males. Lord Frost rounded most of them up without Frieza's knowledge and crossbred them with a much weaker but compatible race called the Rotarians. The Rotarians were a very peaceful and affectionate race, and the crossbreeding was intended to make the new race of Saiyan hybrids less aggressive. That actually backfired a bit, but I'll explain that later. Then, about twenty years later, he murdered all of the pureblooded Saiyans and pureblooded Rotarians to leave behind a new race dubbed the Rotians. Weaker than Saiyans overall, and a slave farm for the Kold Empire, so they would be completely under their control," Lenz explained.

"How do you know all of this? Vegeta didn't even mention this," Gohan asked, stunned.

"It's been passed down to every child since it happened. My grandfather was a full-blooded Saiyan before they murdered him. I wasn't alive then, but he taught my father everything and most of the story was passed to me. Father said that Prince Vegeta was kept in the dark about it. Besides, don't you recognize a Saiyan tail when you see one?" she asked, swishing her purple colored tail upwards. Gohan eyed it carefully, and then scanned her energy level thoroughly, finding it partially compatible to his own, at least the Saiyan part of it. He noted though that her energy signal did feel strangely familiar, even though it was very weak.

"As for the Saiyans I mentioned, they are actually Rotians that were able to learn from our Saiyan ancestors on how to fight and concentrate energy before they were killed. Most of them escaped the planet and now live as independent rebels that strike at the Kold family's shipments. They don't call themselves Rotians now, they continue calling themselves Saiyans. I know some of these arts as well, but I was sold to the slave market before I was good enough to escape that horrible place," she said, looking down a bit.

"Sorry to hear that," Gohan said. _Wow, she must have had a harsh life._

"You can't imagine what its like, having to learn how to defend yourself at age four and then fear for your life every moment of every day," she said with a slight tear in her eye. _Okay, maybe it isn't so hard to imagine._

"Let's just say I know the feeling," Gohan said in slight consolation.

"Anyway, Gohan, I suppose we should get to the control room, I need to repay my end of the debt. The shift change should be in about two hours. That is generally the best time to get in there," she said, snapping out of her sad mood.

"Yeah, I would appreciate the help," Gohan nodded.

"I only have one little request, that you take me with you," she said.

"What? I'm not sure that's a good idea," Gohan said, unsure about what he should do.

"Look around here Gohan, there's nothing but a whore's life for me here. All I do is keep tabs on some of Frost's business for my people, but I've been cut off from any Rotians that come by anymore. I want to learn about my Saiyan ancestry, and I want to learn their ways. Wherever you are going, it's got to be better than this shithole. I may not be a full-blooded Saiyan, but I should be genetically compatible with you for mating in a few years," Lenz grinned, making Gohan wince slightly before sadness filled his face.

"I'm...already taken," he mumbled as his thoughts returned to Videl's death.

"Oh I see, well that's fine I suppose, I'll just have to make due. Just where is your home anyway?" Lenz asked.

"It's a planet called Earth," Gohan said, glancing towards the wall as he tried to clear his mind. _She could literally have her pick of the litter once they even look at her, and I thought Krillin had it made._

"Earth? As in the planet where Frieza was reported to have been killed about twelve years ago? I think you had better find a new home Gohan, that planet is Frost's next target!" Lenz suggested.

Gohan snapped out of his stupor right away, "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, just a few days ago he dispatched one of his deadliest warlords to clear it out," Lenz said.

"How strong is this warlord you speak of?" Gohan asked.

"I don't know, maybe about twice as strong as Frieza was, a lot of Frost's elite soldiers are much stronger than Frieza's flunkies," Lenz explained.

"Only twice as strong? No need to worry. He's already dead if he goes to Earth," Gohan said.

"What? Are you serious? Only a legendary Super Saiyan can stand up to that!" she cried out.

"Like I said, he's already dead. My little brother could take that out easily," Gohan admitted.

"Are you kidding me, just how strong is your family?" Lenz asked, amazed.

"The Saiyan race has changed. Your information is just as much out of date as mine. There's a lot I need to tell you if you are to come with me," Gohan began as they both sat down. Gohan began explaining his story, and Lenz's eyes only got wider and wider.

**Interlude 16.1 –Verto's training-**

"Special Beam Cannon! Damnit!" I shouted as another failed attempt skewered part of a mountain. I became frustrated as my energy didn't do what I had intended. When Dabura suggested that I use an older move, I became a bit confused. He wanted me to create a delayed Chi-explosion type attack similar to the Shock Cannon, but one that didn't require a Psi storm to hit it or what not. I quickly went through my arsenal though and since the special beam cannon was basically a spiraled beam, I could make that work if I did it right. Problem was, the energy was mixing right off the bat, and that didn't increase the power at all. _Okay, calm down and try again, otherwise this won't ever work._ I already had the idea to channel ki through one finger and Psi through the other, and I assumed it would spiral out correctly. _No, wait a sec, this attack doesn't work that way. Its not like I'm firing two equal ki beams that spin around each other. Its more like one big ki beam and a smaller one that wraps around, I wonder if it in fact takes more energy from one finger and fires it out the other. I should look into my attack setups better._ So I did just that, held up the two fingers and charged ki into them just like I would the regular way. Instead of firing the beam, I added the energy and then held it there, watching and feeling it jump between fingers. I noticed that a majority of the ki ended up in the middle finger, which kind of made sense. That was where the core of the beam always was. I fired the beam and confirmed this, watching the mountain crack a bit.

_Okay, what would happen if I didn't hold my fingers together like the usual way. _I charged up my fingers again, but this time held the fingers about half an inch apart. Practically no energy jumped between fingers now, and I fired the beam into the sky, scanning its makeup now. The core of the straight beam was now much skinnier and the wrapping beam was thicker. Both of the beams felt pretty equal until they combined up before exploding, feeling twice as strong just as it should. _Well that's a start, now here comes the hard part. _I assumed my charging pose once again, only now I concentrated ki into my middle finger and Psi into my first finger, still holding them apart. Some of the energy ended up on the wrong side, so I took a moment to reorganize it so one finger was glowing blue with the other glowing gold. Once I felt that both sides were equal, I prepared to fire it, though pausing for just a moment to make sure I aimed for something far enough away. _Here goes, if this works I'll have to give it a new name as well._

"Special Beam Cannon!" I shouted, firing the beam. This time, a yellow beam roared out with a blue one spiraling around it, almost just as I had it planned. I shut if off almost right away so not to mess anything up. The screw beam tore through the air to the target mountain, but it felt a little low compared to what I expected. The ki beam had a bit of a lead to it, something I didn't completely expect, but since I had separated my fingers, it didn't surprise me. I was a bit concerned that the wrapping Psi beam wouldn't catch up. I needn't worry though, the ki part of the beam was slowed just a hair once it hit the mountain, and I sensed the blue Psi beam catch up to it instantly. Then all I saw was a huge bright green flash where the mountain was, blinding the entire area and lighting up my energy senses with a deafening explosion. _Holy Shit!_ Once the light and sound faded, most of the resilient mountains in the area were gone, and the residual energy in the air gave me a pretty good idea on how powerful the attack was. _Triple the damage after fusion, very not bad. I'd say the first test of the...Spirit Beam Cannon...was a success. Now, to work on the homing part._

--

"And that's how I ended up here," Gohan summed up as Lenz stared at him hard.

"I heard about the legendary Super Saiyans, but I had no idea that there were levels of power beyond that. No wonder you didn't seem too worried about Frost," she said, stunned at the story she was told.

"Yeah, he's strong, but we've faced and beaten stronger beings out there," Gohan admitted as he scratched the back of his head.

"So what happened to your friend a week ago? You started talking about it, but then you got to talking about that Broly dude," Lenz asked, gazing into Gohan's sad eyes.

"He…sacrificed himself to destroy the fusion of Broly and the Overmind, the head Zerg controller. He was able to absorb enough energy to retain full power, but he used a technique to increase his power when his body was in shambles and directed all of this energy at Broly. Broly was wiped out, but Verto killed himself doing it. I feel really bad that I couldn't help him out more, but in the end it may not have mattered. We can still wish him back to life with the dragonballs at the very least, but I really wish he were here now," Gohan said meekly.

"Well, cheer up, you said you could wish him back to life right? You can do it once you get home. Speaking of which, are you ready to go find the control room? We shouldn't stay around here much longer, I'd say I've been reported by now and someone is likely looking for me. I know of a passage through the grand dining hall that we can use as a shortcut, I don't think many people know about it," Lenz suggested.

"Sounds good, what do we do?" Gohan asked.

"As provocative as it sounds, you need to tie me up. The holding cells and Frost's main chamber are beyond the way to the dining hall, so as long as no one sees us go that way, we should be fine," Lenz said, drawing a nervous face from Gohan.

"I take it the plan is to fool the guards into thinking that you're my prisoner?" Gohan asked, though he didn't need to.

"You got it, now let's see if I can find some restraints in here, there should be some in this drawer over here…" Lenz carried on as she went through the dresser drawers. She found a pair quickly and Gohan strapped her hands together and found a replacement for his helmet before they slowly walked out the door.

--

"Don't be so nervous," Lenz rasped, trying not to catch anyone's attention in the crowded hall.

"Sorry, I usually don't have to sneak around like this," Gohan lied. He had snuck around plenty of times during his early Saiyaman days, but nothing involving a phony guard and a fake prisoner. They made their way through most of the compound without much notice, except for the fact that Gohan didn't look overly confident in escorting her to the holding area.

"You have to look and act like a guard if this is going to work. Hit me in the head with your blaster or something," Lenz suggested.

"No, I don't want to hurt you," Gohan whispered.

"Argh, your impossible," Lenz groaned. When she turned her head to the side, she spotted Frost coming out of one of the bars, staring right at her and Gohan. Gohan's eyes went slightly wide, but this slowly turned into a stare as he walked by, not paying attention to Lenz at all.

"Damnit Gohan," Lenz said, glancing back. When she realized that Gohan was not focused on the task at hand, she decided she better regain his attention. She ducked down and swept his legs. Gohan's battle instincts woke him up as he jumped out of the way. The crowd scattered as Lenz made a run for it, leaving more than a clear shot for Gohan and the other soldiers. Gohan quickly realized what he had to do while Frost was watching, and pointed the blaster straight at her. He gathered a tiny amount of ki and released it just as he appeared to touch the button, sending a ki blast into her shoulder. Lenz dropped to the ground in pain and the commotion stopped.

Gohan reacted quickly and ran up, pointing the blaster at her back, "Stay down!"

"You should have killed her," Frost said from just a few feet behind. Gohan's nervous tension rose about a dozen levels, but he managed a clear head as he turned to face the changeling.

"I'm taking her to a holding cell, sir," Gohan barely choked out.

"I see, what did she do? Quite an attractive girl, did she deny you service or something soldier?" Frost asked with a slight grin.

"No, she killed my partner!" a voice roared from behind. Gohan looked past Frost to see the pink Kodoria, and heard Lenz swearing a bit on the ground.

"She's mine! I will make her pay for her insubordination!" Kodoria roared, stomping through the clearing crowds in a hurry. Gohan thought things over quickly, it was bad enough running into Frost, but now Kodoria was going to force him into a difficult situation.

"No, she's my prisoner. My catch, your loss," Gohan said quickly, staring down the huge pink man as he walked right up to him.

"Out of my way runt!" he warned. _Okay, this guy isn't backing down, now what? If I attack, then Frost is surely going to figure out just who I am. While I'm pretty sure I can take him, there are too many people around here that would get hurt in the process. Damn, I need a plan._

"Hold on Kodoria, we can settle this in a more civilized manner. You two shall fight for who attains the brownie points for capturing a fugitive. Be in the main arena in one-hour. Until then, you may take this little dear to the holding cells and schedule her for execution tomorrow morning. And Kodoria, come to my chambers, we need to discuss why it took you so long to hunt down this fugitive," Frost said, taking lead as the pink tub of lard followed.

"You're dead meat, boy!" Kodoria shouted back. Gohan sighed with temporary relief as the two vanished into the growing crowds, and helped Lenz to her feet.

"That was close," Gohan dared to whisper.

"Your lucky that things transpired that way, I thought you'd blow our cover for sure. Good job, but man, how high of a setting was the blaster on?" she asked, rubbing her bruised shoulder.

"Looks like the maximum, I didn't shoot you with it though, it just looked like it to everyone else. I hit you with a really weak ki blast, I couldn't take the chance of the blaster turning you into dust right?" Gohan asked.

"Yeah, thanks on that too. Let's get going. The passage to the dining hall is just up here," Lenz said.

"Keep moving!" Gohan suddenly shouted, nudging her lightly in the back.

"Keep acting," Lenz whispered with a grin.

**Power levels:**

**Kodoria: 28,000 **

**Lenz: 650**

**Banan: 350**

**Gohan: Does it matter?**

**Next time on DBV: Lenz and Gohan come upon the secret passage to Frost's inner chamber and the minefield control room. When they arrive though, they discover that the minefield had already been deactivated by Frost himself and that the others were already on their way. Gohan and Lenz soon have worse things to worry about though as Frost discovers and confronts them. Frost orders his agents to destroy Lenz's home planet for her treachery and Gohan becomes enraged and attacks. Stay tuned next time!**


	18. Clash

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 17: Clash**

The two demi-Saiyans continued through the base unprovoked for the rest of the way. Once they found the split hallway to the dining hall, they were given a nice surprise in seeing that there was no one in there. With the traffic on that end of the base low, they crept down the hallway with ease, walking single file so other people would only see Gohan's back unless they looked carefully. Gohan recognized the dining hall's layout and quickly scanned for any other presence, finding none.

"Here, release the restraints, the secret passage is behind that painting!" Lenz pointed out as Gohan took the restraints off.

"Of course, it would be behind that Frieza painting," Gohan muttered. She sprinted over to tap an invisible button along the wall, shifting the painting aside for a moment and revealing a dark passage.

"This will take us to the mine field control room?" Gohan asked, looking a bit doubtful.

"No, this will take us to the room next to it, Frost's chamber," Lenz said, walking through. Gohan groaned slightly, he really didn't want to be sneaking around behind the walls of Frost's private chamber, especially if the changeling himself was in there.

"Come on, will ya? This'll work, trust me!" Lenz said with an assuring smile. Gohan walked into the dark passage and Lenz closed the entrance once again. A majority of the lighting then vanished then, leaving Gohan nearly blind to the environment until his eyes adjusted. Lenz, however, didn't possess Super Saiyan sight, and bumped into Gohan's back, tumbling backwards.

"Ow, man, you're as solid as a rock! What the hell do you eat?" she groaned.

"Heh, sorry, I forget sometimes that my body isn't normal even compared to Saiyans," Gohan said, helping her up.

"Straight ahead," she pointed out. Gohan walked slowly that way, but steadily increased his pace, as he got closer to Frost's power signal. For reasons unknown to him, he felt anxious to fight all of a sudden, and the only one around that would suit his thirst for a challenge was Frost.

"I know you're in a hurry, but where did you go Gohan? I can't see you!" Lenz rasped from far behind.

"Sorry, I didn't realize that you were so slow," Gohan blurted out without thinking.

"Well, excuse me!" Lenz said, walking a bit faster.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," Gohan said in his meek voice, trying to figure out why he had said it to begin with.

"Whatever. I guess when your standards are set so high it's hard not to look down on the little people, isn't it?" Lenz asked, killing the conversation. _Ouch, guess I deserved that_, Gohan thought as he spotted light not far away.

"That's it up there. Now, be quiet just in case Frost is in there," Lenz whispered. Gohan already knew the answer to that, the evil lord was indeed there, and just sensing his presence increased his lust for battle a couple of notches.

"Ugh! Big, pink and ugly is in there too, maybe we should just wait until its time for that battle arena event, surely they'll both be gone then," Lenz suggested as she peered out the holes in the other painting. Frost was indeed speaking to Kodoria, but seemed to be preoccupied. Just as Gohan stepped up to take a look, Frost's head turned slightly their way, but that wasn't what got Gohan's attention. His power level increased for a split second, and then dropped by a good amount as if he was trying to hide it. _Wait a sec, Frieza couldn't ever sense power levels, and neither did Cooler! Don't tell me this guy can! I can lower mine just fine, but Lenz can't control her own. Damnit, looks like I'm going to have to fight him._ Gohan didn't dare move or even breathe as he watched Frost's movements. Frost turned his attention back to whatever Kodoria was blabbering about, but clearly wasn't interested as he swished his glass of wine. Kodoria mentioned something about tearing up his opponent with ease and Frost's eyes rolled momentarily. _Yeah I'd pay zeni to see that one_, Gohan thought with a deep grin.

"Perhaps you should go warm up in the battle arena, maybe you'll get a better match out of him if you've already spent some of your energy on some cannon fodder," Frost suggested, standing up at the same time.

"Good idea, my lord. Otherwise, I won't get any exercise out of that runt!" Kodoria nodded, heading for the door ahead of Frost. Gohan and Lenz lost sight of Frost, and sighed a bit with relief.

"Looks like we won't have to deal with him," she said. Gohan's energy senses flared suddenly from directly ahead, and he quickly grabbed Lenz by the waist and dodged just as a sizable ki blast roared through the hidden passage, tearing up the walls.

"Looks like you jinxed it," he muttered as he heard Frost laughing.

"Come on out Saiyan, I know your there! And bring your little whore too!" he announced.

"How did he know?" Lenz asked in shock. Gohan didn't answer, setting Lenz on her feet and walking out of the passage in full view of the evil lord.

-

"Ah, the son of Goku! It's Gohan, isn't it?" Frost asked with a deep smile that Gohan didn't return. Kodoria lined up behind Frost, who only grinned.

"What of it?" Gohan asked in a dark, threatening voice as he took off his helmet and dropped it to the side.

"Just so I know who I'm dealing with. I heard you were currently the strongest of the Earth Saiyans. It seems I'm about to find out if its true. However I didn't recall that your eyes were naturally blue, a little anxious are we?" Frost boasted.

"I doubt you want to find out, just let me finish my business here and I'll be on my way," Gohan warned, releasing some of his power in anticipation. Alarms started going off from the computer in front of Frost's chair, flashing warnings of extremely high power levels. Frost ended the noise by blasting it rather quickly, leaving that particular screen in shambles.

"So what is your business here anyway Saiyan? I doubt it was just for the girl. I doubt you even knew about her and her weak race!" Frost said, arms folded.

"Your minefield, I want it deactivated so me and my family can get home. Though I'm sure you already knew that," Gohan suggested, not blinking while he glared at the changeling.

"Oh, is that all? Well, I'm sorry Gohan, but I cannot deactivate the minefield," Frost said sternly as he walked towards his chair.

"I figured you would say that, that's fine. I can do it myself!" Gohan exclaimed.

"No, you don't understand. I cannot deactivate it because all of the mines have already been shut off, and the self-detonation devices were triggered. We're currently tracking a Protoss ship heading this way, I assume it's the rest of your comrades. They should enter the system in approximately twenty-five minutes at their current pace," Frost said thoughtfully, catching Gohan's shocked expression.

"What? You already shut them off? Not that I'm complaining, but why?" Gohan asked as Lenz stepped behind him, slightly scared.

"It's very simple Gohan, but there is some history behind it that I doubt Vegeta has told you. If that first mine didn't destroy the Protoss ship, I knew Vegeta would figure out what has transpired here, so really there was no point to keeping them active. Long ago, Vegeta and I were comrades, and he helped me with a project that my father had given me, to develop more adept space mines with a higher explosive output. It wasn't that he wanted to help me, he really had no choice in the matter. He also saved my skin when a test mine went off and left my body broken. I was foolishly caught un-aware of its power, and a Saiyan had saved me. Granted he was young then, he didn't have the killer instinct you've likely seen. I was shamed by my family for being saved by a Saiyan, and I never lived it down. Vegeta hasn't trusted me ever since I set him up years ago to regain some sort of respect from my father. I didn't count on father sparing his life back then either, a foolish move I might add. Every time Vegeta tried to look into files regarding the surviving Saiyans though, I had to keep everything covered up so my father wouldn't find out anything more than he already knew. I thought I had been returning an old favor, no matter how bad of a fallout we had. Once Vegeta learned of his home planet's fate, whatever was left of his trust had for my family evaporated," Frost explained.

"So you set him up?" Gohan asked.

"So he has mentioned that a bit. I set him up for his own good, so he wouldn't find out about the Saiyans I had stashed away. Those Saiyans were an outcast bunch of low levels that he probably wouldn't have accepted, but they were still Saiyans. When father spared Vegeta though, I thought he had finally learned his lesson about looking into files that he shouldn't. I was right, his anger and foolishness rose a few levels, but it did take the focus off others and back onto himself. Unfortunately, father found out about them anyway, and I had to exterminate the remaining full-blooded Saiyans. The remaining half-breed Rotians were kept mostly a secret from my foolish father, and that weak girl is a descendent of those Saiyans. They have lived under my protection until they started rebelling," Frost explained.

"Protection?" Lenz asked in a low voice.

"An interesting and long-winded history, but you didn't answer my question," Gohan fired back quickly. He felt bad for Vegeta and the girl, but now wasn't the time to worry about that.

"Quite right. I figured Vegeta would send someone ahead to deactivate the mines, but I expected it long ago, and I thought I would be able to track a small shuttle. How did you get here?" Frost asked.

"You wouldn't understand Frost. Besides, I have trouble believing your little tale considering your family's history. Personally I think its all just a lie, and being the son of Frieza, I don't trust you. I think that you shut them off so you could try and destroy us with your own bare hands, just to know that we were all gone," Gohan replied, preparing himself to power up.

"I see, so it's a fight then? Typical Saiyan," Frost answered, lowering his arms a bit.

"Lenz, stay back," Gohan ordered as his silver aura appeared.

"I warn you Saiyan, fight me now and I can guarantee that your precious Earth will be destroyed. And I will gladly wipe out the Rotians as well! It certainly wouldn't be the first time, isn't that right my little peach?" Frost asked as he grinned at Lenz.

"What does he mean by that?" Gohan asked. She hesitated for a moment, but knew that she and her people were extremely lucky to be alive.

"It happened when I was very young, but Frieza decided to kill all of us Rotians because he didn't think we were good enough slaves or something. He found out that we were part Saiyan when our fighters transformed into apes in front of him, and boy was he mad. He didn't blow up the planet though, he just simply killed us all on the planet surface. I barely remember it, but I do recall my father defending our house right before he blasted it apart. As the story goes though, Frieza went to a place called Namek shortly afterwards. Well, something strange happened and we all came back to life one day, the same day that it was said that a Legendary Super Saiyan appeared and defeated Frieza on Namek before it blew up. Lord Frost was able to keep it a secret pretty easily though, considering how King Kold was so angry with the Earth Saiyans at the time. Frieza and King Kold departed for Earth shortly afterwards to wipe out both the Super Saiyan and Prince Vegeta, who had taken it upon himself to destroy over seventy percent of the empire's North galaxy outposts while Frieza was recovering. I think you know what happened after that," Lenz explained. Gohan looked very intrigued by this until he realized where he was that day. _They came back to life? Oh - of course! She and her people were brought back by the dragonballs because Popo wished for everyone killed by Frieza to come back to life! If that was truly within a year of when we were on Namek, then it totally fits._

"A mystery I still don't understand even after examining the planet, but since there is nothing special about the planet, I assure the same mistake will not be made twice!" Frost said as he punched a button on his chair.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Gohan asked.

"That girl was supposed to lure you out to me, not help you. Her insubordination will be dealt with in due time, but her planet will not fare the same way. Once it is gone, my elite soldiers will hunt down the rogue Rotians with ease, my super-computer has data on all of their whereabouts. Bojack, come in!" Frost barked out. The non-broken screen blipped on with a blue head under an orange bandana.

"Yes, my lord?" Bojack asked.

"You may dispose of Rotaria now. I know you've been waiting long enough," Frost grinned.

"You monster!" Gohan shouted.

"I've seen Saiyans look at a full moon before. You have no room to talk," Frost said calmly, turning the view screen off just as it lit up with bright green light. Lenz's knees got weak as her eyes welled up, and she dropped to the ground crying. Gohan's anger level rose a few notches, and whatever was keeping him on the ground was struggling as his aura lit up with lightning.

"Let me deal with him lord, I owe him!" Kodoria suggested.

Frost chuckled slightly, "Go ahead if you really have a death wish!" Kodoria flexed slightly before flying right at Gohan. His punch was caught while Gohan continued to glare at Frost.

"I really didn't want to start a fight here Frost, but you leave me no choice! You killed those people, and now you're going to pay!" Gohan warned.

"You're fighting me, runt!" Kodoria announced, bringing his other fist in. Gohan let him go, then punched straight through his chest and released a quick ki blast, turning the pink muscle head into ashes in an instant. Frost jumped on the distraction and sped across the room, decking a surprised Gohan. The blow sent Gohan through the walls and back into the dining hall. Lenz looked up in horror as Frost stood over her.

"Now would be a good time to beg for your life!" Frost suggested as he picked her up by the throat.

"No! Help me, Gohan!" she cried out. Frost chuckled momentarily until Gohan's fist sent him through the opposite wall as he flew in.

"Listen up Lenz, I want you to get out of here. This fight is going to tear up the base before we're done, I'll come find you when it's over!" Gohan ordered, wiping the trace of blood from his lip.

"But, you can't beat him!" she reiterated.

"Yes I can, but it's going to take a little while, you need to stay safe until I finish him off!" Gohan said, picking her up off her knees.

"Okay, good luck!" she said, running off through the passage. Gohan turned back to see Frost recovering from the hit he gave him, a clear wake up call.

"You are stronger than I expected, not even Vegeta was this strong when you visited before. I must say I'm going to enjoy this, I haven't had the chance to fight an enemy with my full power for a long time!" Frost said, stretching his neck a bit.

"Enjoy it while it lasts, you're going down!" Gohan shouted, flying at Frost just as Frost came at him. The fight was on.

-

The base shook violently as the two titans clashed for the next few minutes, prompting just about everyone to get as far away as they could. Some of Frost's soldiers came to check it out, but quickly turned away once they saw that Gohan was able to keep pace with their lord. That was the surprise for Gohan though, the fact that Frost was keeping up with him at top Mystic form. True, he hadn't elected to go Super Mystic yet, but he was tempted. And in reality Frost wasn't gaining a whole lot of ground, it felt more like a simple sparring match and Gohan treated it as such until he was pressed. While they hadn't really bruised each other yet, some of the blows that landed didn't tickle either. One foolish soldier decided to take aim at Gohan's head, but couldn't keep up with the speed; it ended up costing him. Gohan glanced behind quickly once he sensed it, and ducked out of the way, though the blast probably wouldn't have done much. It did hit Frost though, and the look on his face said enough, despite not doing a damn thing to the changeling. One red ki blast later, the soldier became part of the broken flooring.

"Your fight is with me - don't involve others!" Gohan warned.

"Last I checked, there are no rules in combat. The only thing that matters is the winner and the loser!" Frost said. Gohan didn't answer verbally, but used instant transmission to teleport behind and level Frost with a vicious forearm to the head. This destroyed Frost's fancy chair as he plowed through it, getting up stunned.

"How did you do that, I didn't even see you move! Nor did I sense your power change, explain!" Frost demanded.

"Humph, I guess you aren't all that and a bag of chips huh?" Gohan replied with a grin.

"Argh, your arrogance blinds you, I am more powerful than you!" Frost growled, getting up again.

"We'll see about that," Gohan said calmly. Frost then decided that the room was too small, because he unleashed a powerful blast that blew the rest of it up, leaving them with a nice open skylight with crumbling walls.

"I know you wanted to redecorate, but come on. It'll take much more than that to beat me," Gohan said with a deeper grin.

Frost's scowl deepened, "Fine, I wanted to make this interesting. But it seems you want to die that badly. It's time for you to feel my full power!" Frost declared as a bright blue aura went up around him.

"Do your worst," Gohan challenged. Frost's power level then rose sharply, but his shape did not change one bit, making Gohan believe that he did not have another form to transform into. The base shook even more, and whatever was left of Frost's chamber became rubble on the ground. Frost's level stopped just above Gohan's current Mystic level, and thus Gohan felt slightly concerned, but not surprised by any means.

"So, what do you think boy?" Frost asked with his grin once again plastered on his face.

"I think your full power is overrated," Gohan said plainly, "If you can truly sense power levels, you would know that you are equal with me right now, and I'm not even trying hard yet!"

"I doubt that boy, no Saiyan can be stronger than me now!" Frost claimed.

"You better rethink your beliefs then," Gohan said, eyes narrowing. He cast a quick eye to his right, seeing that Frost did not destroy the computer room directly next to them. _It must contain something that he didn't want to destroy, all of the damage went away from it. I'll find out what's in there after I take care of this scumbag._

-

Frost flew quickly at Gohan, who blocked his incoming punch with both arms. The area shook violently upon the impact, and Lenz was sent stumbling into a wall around the dining area, giving her a nice little bump on her head as she slid to the floor, out cold. Other soldiers and civilians weren't faring any better, but most of them had a good idea to just keep moving and not look back while they escaped. Gohan kicked high towards Frost's head, but got punched in the midsection once Frost ducked, sending Gohan into the air. Gohan responded with a quick ki blast that Frost dodged easily. Gohan used the dust and falling rubble to his advantage, masking his power and moving slowly through the dust cloud so Frost couldn't see or sense him. Frost shot a quick red beam through the cloud, narrowly missing Gohan, and revealing his own location. Gohan charged and scored on a hard punch to the face and a kick to the back of the neck when Frost stumbled. Frost was stunned, and it was all the time Gohan needed to jump at him and unload with easily a hundred punches and kicks before sending the changeling skidding across the wasteland outside the base. Gohan paused for just a moment before stepping back and charging up one of his oldest attacks.

"Masenko...HA!" The golden blast blew through the air towards Frost unmoving position, but missed completely when he phased out without even moving. Gohan was instantly floored by a kick to the back of his head. He flipped forward and spun, seeing Frost almost sitting in mid air before touching down on his feet, deep smirk and all. _I didn't even see him move, that was Instant Transmission! It had to be!_

"Did that look familiar to you?" Frost asked.

"You could say that. So you know Instant Transmission too? Why did you act so surprised when I did it?" Gohan asked.

"And spoil it for you? That would have been quite rude of me. I have a few more tricks up my sleeve, eventually you will come to realize all of them before you beg for mercy!" Frost declared, getting ready for the next assault.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before - do your worst!" Gohan replied, dropping into a stance himself. Frost charged again, phasing out when Gohan punched at his face. Gohan reacted and phased out himself just as a hard kick came through from behind. Frost was gone when Gohan tried again, and a the cycle repeated itself for the next few minutes as both warriors dodged each other, neither landing a hit. Frost finally tried a ki blast and Gohan teleported behind him, but missed with a double arm smash when Frost teleported as well. Gohan lost the signal for a moment, sensing that Frost wasn't coming at him from nearby and looking around for him. A bright light above gave away Frost's position from above, as he was charging a big red ki blast in one hand. Gohan dodged aside just as the red blast reached him and exploded, kicking up another large amount of dust and rubble as it formed a big crater. Gohan lost track of Frost again, until the evil lord teleported behind him and let him have it with a nasty kick. Gohan was sent into the dirt for a moment, trying to gather himself and focus while Frost started laughing some more.

"Looks like I will be winning this fight!" Frost declared, charging a lot of power into his fingertip. Gohan stood up and turned, wiping a trace of blood off his mouth before grinning himself. Frost fired just as Gohan dodged to the side, sensing the fast beam go past him harmlessly before lighting up the horizon.

"You are extremely lucky to dodge that from this range. Do not assume you can keep that up!" Frost warned, though seeing his own mistake before Gohan reminded him of it.

"And you better not assume that this is as strong as I get. Doing so will only ensure your own destruction!" Gohan replied.

"We shall see about that, Saiyan. I suggest that you quit playing around then. It's obvious to both of us that you won't get anywhere sandbagging like this. Show me your true power if you are indeed holding back," Frost suggested.

"All right then, I have no problem with that," Gohan answered, dropping his ki level and raising his Psi level to match. Frost's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out why Gohan would drop his power level, that is until he felt the energy literally coming out of nowhere as the silver aura brightened. Once Gohan's hair changed color, Frost had a pretty good idea of what was going on, though it wasn't exactly what he expected. Gohan grinned slightly as he sensed that Frost was now at a noticeable disadvantage.

"You asked for it Frost, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to surrender now," Gohan said in a cocky tone as lightning streaked through him.

"Just like you Saiyans, I don't give up on a fight!" Frost declared.

**Power levels:**

**Mystic Gohan: 580,000,000; Super Mystic: 700,000,000**

**Frost: 600,000,000**

**Next time on DBV: Gohan holds off Frost while Lenz discovers that Frost's computer not only carries the location of Earth, but also the locations of all her remaining Rotian brethren. She uploads a computer virus that spreads throughout Frost's entire network and erases all of these locations from all of his ships, making tracking them nearly impossible. Needless to say, Frost won't be happy about this, but is there anything he can do about it? ( ** Daio - No, absolutely nothing! Hahaha! **) Find out next time!**


	19. Database Destroyed

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 18: Database Destroyed**

Gohan and Frost charged each other and engaged in another short melee. It didn't last long, as Gohan's speed increased and Frost had trouble keeping up within a few seconds. Gohan sported a grin once he saw that Frost couldn't keep up at the moment, and calmly went on the defensive while Frost chased him down. Frost quickly got frustrated as he gave pursuit, unable to land one good blow while Gohan crossed his arms and simply dodged, blocking with his legs occasionally. The two zipped through the sand covered planet with nothing but the stars watching them, and Gohan didn't attack once, letting Frost wear himself out.

"Argh, why can't I hit you?" Frost shouted angrily.

"You didn't say please, how rude," Gohan said, cracking a smirk that didn't belong on his face. While Frost backed off, Gohan began thinking about his tactics, wondering why he allowed himself to get so arrogant all of a sudden. _This isn't me, I shouldn't be toying with this guy like this. The last time I did that, was Cell. I should just finish him off while I've got the chance._ Gohan's cocky grin vanished once he had control of himself, and he drew his arms back while Frost's eyes widened a bit.

"Ka, me, ha…" Gohan began. Frost seemed to know what was going on as he sensed a great deal of energy going to Gohan's hands, and elected to jump into the sky, drawing back a single finger. An orange ball appeared above it and swelled as he powered more than enough energy into it to blow up the planet several times over. Gohan glanced up in realization, knowing that he needed to stop Frost from dropping the Death Ball. He focused on Frost's position and teleported out, reappearing directly behind the evil lord in the air.

"HAAA!" The beam roared out of Gohan's hands and into the surprised Frost, hitting him square in the back and pushing him away from his own death ball. Gohan discontinued the beam immediately, and kicked the slowly descending death ball into space, where it blew up part of an asteroid belt. He heard Frost screaming in the distance as he rode the green Kamehameha. _He'll be back, but at least now I'll be able to see what was so important about that room._

Gohan dropped into the broken chamber and broke through the metal door to the room in question. Inside was a massive computer with a dozen screens around. Gohan looked closer and noticed that Earth was listed on one of them, as was Rotaria, or what was left of it. Another screen showed the planet he was on, and the Protoss ship coming through the sector. Other screens showed things like the empire's controlled area, shipping lanes, and planets on the conquering list. The final screen listed locations of rebel Rotians, listed on several planets in several systems. _This is the base of Frost's entire operation, this is all of it! If I destroy this, then he may not be able to threaten earth, and the rest of Lenz's people will be safe._ Gohan gathered a quick blast, ready to fry the machine, when he sensed a tiny ki signal behind.

"No, don't blast it, not yet!" Lenz shouted as she stumbled into the room. Gohan turned, letting the small blast fade in question.

"Why not?" Gohan asked simply.

"Simply destroying it won't do any good, this database connects to the entire empire. We have to load this onto the database, then we destroy it!" Lenz said, pulling out a small disk.

"What is it?" Gohan asked.

"It's a virus, designed to crash the system and wipe out all of the data. If we upload it, we should be able to erase all of the information regarding not only our people's whereabouts, but just about everything else as well. The Kold Empire always kept their database up to date, however the fatal flaw was that it was broadcast through subspace from one location. No one has ever been able to infiltrate one of their bases and crash the system. With this virus in their systems, they won't even know which planets they currently possess! And their ships won't be able to successfully navigate!" Lenz boasted, inserting the disk.

"Nice, but don't they have backup systems for this potential problem?" Gohan asked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, with this supercomputer, so you'll get to blow it up after all. I'm uploading it now!" Lenz pointed out as a blue bar appeared on the screen and slowly filled up.

"That doesn't make any sense though, why wouldn't they keep every ship on its own system and have all of that data on every ship?" Gohan asked.

"The empire probably didn't want to spend the cash needed for it, the Kold family was known for being a pack of greedy tightwads. I really don't know why, nor do I care," Lenz spat slightly.

"So, I assume you've been waiting for a chance to do this," Gohan said, scanning again for Frost.

"Yeah, but obviously I haven't had a chance to do so, I'm not as strong as you after all. The last Rotian to stop by gave me this disk in exchange for Frost's current plans. We thought he would be going after Earth a lot sooner though, I still have no idea why he waited, especially if you and your friends are this powerful. The bastard is getting what he deserves though, let him struggle to put his empire back together once this goes through their network! If he thought my people were a pain in the ass now, just wait until they actually start retaliating in systems he can't even navigate," she said with a vile taste in her mouth.

"No offense, but if your people are not that strong, what do you do to annoy him so much?" Gohan asked as the progress bar slipped past fifty percent complete.

"Mostly bomb their supply bases and disable ship's systems. Since we don't have the numbers and lack the strength, we have to make due with small-scale operations. I hope they can change that someday," Lenz said, sniffling a bit.

"I take it you still want to come with me," Gohan replied, looking away.

"I do. I wasn't sure at first, but there's something familiar about you. I swear I've seen you before, or at least someone like you. He had that same color of hair, and he was just as strong. I think he was a bit younger, maybe in his pre-teenage years. But the thing is, I've never met anyone like that before you, it must have been some dream I had," Lenz said, shaking her head slightly.

"A premonition?" Gohan asked suddenly.

"Yeah, guess so," she answered quickly as the progress bar passed ninety percent. _So, our meeting may not have been an accident, or perhaps she meant Verto. Except he never transformed when he was in his older form, or at least not that I know of. Somehow this girl must be speaking of the future and she's tied in with Verto somehow. I may have no choice but to take her with. Vegeta may not like it, but at least she's part Saiyan, he can't complain about that._

"Alright, we're done here, care to do the honors Gohan?" Lenz asked, backing away from the control panel.

"No problem," Gohan said, charging a quick blast. The instant he let it go, he sensed a powerful presence heading towards them from the distance. _Well, just in time. I'll bet he won't be happy about this, too bad._

--

Gohan and Lenz walked out of the broken chamber to see Frost approaching quickly. When he landed, Gohan took note that most of his body was cut up and bruised pretty bad. He didn't look too pleased either, as was expected.

"Well look who's back," Gohan said, his arrogant grin returning.

"Argh, I wouldn't be getting cocky if I were you! You didn't have the power to destroy me!" Frost said, pointing at Gohan but making no effort to do anything else as he caught his breath.

"Only because I was stopping you from destroying the planet and your own soldiers. Believe me, it wouldn't take much more to put you down in your state!" Gohan boasted.

"Is that so?" Frost asked, glancing at the smoking room next to him. His face filled with fury in an instant, "What did you do to my control room?"

"Oh nothing, just disabled your whole system and uploaded a virus designed to wipe out all the data you have on file. You won't be able to hurt my people if you can't find them!" Lenz declared.

"Shut your mouth whore! Bojack already wiped out the planet, that is enough for now! We can take our time weeding out the rest!" Frost answered.

"Oh really, you obviously didn't keep good enough tabs on all of us. There are nearly a thousand of us that were not on the planet, we have more than enough to start anew!" Lenz grinned from behind Gohan.

"Actually, the last count I had was one thousand, three hundred and eleven, so who's not keeping tabs now? I don't care if I have to hunt them all down myself, I will! But I'm going to start with you girl!" Frost replied, dropping his arms to his sides.

"Over my dead body," Gohan said, completely stepping in front of Lenz to protect her.

"I suggest you step aside boy, I will deal with you eventually," Frost warned.

"Make me! So far I've proven to be stronger and faster than you. If you think your going to bully your way out of this fight, you are sadly mistaken!" Gohan shouted back. Frost didn't answer right away, but his glare increased in intensity as his power suddenly surged. The ground shook violently, knocking Lenz off her feet. Gohan remained steady, but the surrounding building wasn't so lucky as the walls began to crumble.

"How dare you mock me boy! It's time for you to learn respect!" Frost groaned, his blue aura reappearing. Gohan felt his power level rising even more, past the level it had been earlier. _He was still holding back? You gotta be kidding me! I swear I felt his power top out!_ Gohan then noticed something happening with Frost's body. It was growing slightly, the arms and legs swelling with the natural armor enhancing itself. Frost's chest armor also expanded outwards a bit as his eyes turned bright red and stayed that way. _Oh no, he can advance to a 5th form just like Cooler did all those years ago! No wonder I missed it._ Gohan's fears were confirmed when Frost's head began changing shape just slightly, and so did the tone of his voice. A small white mask covered Frost's face a moment later, and Gohan heard him laughing as his power spilt forth.

"Lenz, get out of here now! He's stronger than I thought!" Gohan warned.

"You should have finished me off when you had the chance, now you will suffer the consequences!" Frost announced in a much deeper voice, flying straight at Gohan. Gohan punched forward, hitting air and getting kicked from behind instantly.

"Gohan, no!" Lenz screamed.

"Don't concern yourself with him little girl, you'll be next!" Frost growled. Gohan got to his feet slowly, feeling a bit floored after taking that hit. _Man, how did I not sense his hidden power before? He's a little stronger than I am now! If only I wasn't so arrogant. Okay, calm down, now you have to deal with another super powered scumbag. I hope I don't run out of energy before hand though, otherwise I may not be able to get out of here._

"Now do you see why you won't beat me?" Frost asked from behind.

"I've heard that one before," Gohan admitted, turning around and wiping the blood from his chin.

"It will be for the last time, I guarantee it!" Frost shouted as the two flew at each other.

-

Another melee got underway, and once again it was short lived. After hammering Gohan in the side of the face, Frost teleported out and elected to start firing a large string of ki blasts. Gohan managed to dodge most of them, but had to watch in horror as they all hit the base. He couldn't detect Lenz because of the energy output, but no one with her low power level could have survived. Gohan charged, deflecting some of the blasts and firing some of his own. Frost dodged and launched a bigger beam that hit pay dirt. Gohan was blown aside for the moment as it burned off some of his suit. He landed on his hands and knees before getting back up and teleporting out. He reappeared just as Frost disappeared, missing with a kick. He sensed Frost come up from behind and blocked the incoming kick, returning fire with one of his own. He forced the issue a bit too much and was unable to retract quickly enough when Frost ducked. Gohan felt the full force of a vicious uppercut and went sprawling backwards, stunned. Frost jumped on the chance and hammered Gohan into the ground with a double arm smash followed by a big ki blast. The explosion lit up the lands and left a slightly battered Gohan lying in a sizable crater, bodysuit smoking along with some bloody spots. Frost noticed Lenz hiding behind some of the ruined building and teleported directly behind her. She jumped in surprise and fear as she backed up a few steps.

"What's wrong my dear, didn't you and your people always want to kill me? Here I am, give it your best shot!" Frost said, waving her on. She did just that, punching right at his chest. A loud snap and crackle filled the area, followed by a scream of pain from Lenz as her hand and wrist shattered upon impact. Her ulna even broke the skin layer around the outside of her wrist, leaving it quite bloody and useless.

"Oops, I'm sorry. I forgot to mention that you are too weak to even think about it, silly me," Frost laughed before punching her lightly in the stomach. Lenz was sent flying and skidding through the rough terrain as Frost stalked her. Lenz froze despite all the pain she was feeling, scared out of her mind as Frost got within a few feet of her.

"So this is where it ends for you, enjoy the afterlife," Frost said, lifting a ki lit finger. A fist then slammed into his face, knocking him to the side. Gohan landed where Frost had been, offering out a hand to Lenz.

"Hey, I told you to get going," Gohan whispered as he helped her to her feet.

"Sorry, guess I'm stubborn," Lenz replied painfully, wincing slightly at her broken ribs while holding her now useless arm.

"Now isn't that cute, the Super Saiyan coming to the rescue! Is she to be your mate as well?" Frost asked, chuckling all the way. Gohan didn't answer as Lenz ran off slowly, he instead kept his attention on Frost.

"Well it doesn't matter I suppose, I really should focus on taking care of our business first. That annoying girl just seems to get in the way of both of us. Maybe I'll just finish the job," Frost suggested, lifting an arm and pointing towards Lenz, and the base. Gohan prepped himself to act, until Frost pointed towards him with his other hand.

"Now you will die!" Frost declared, firing a quick blast out of his other hand. Gohan dodged aside, but saw that Frost had already fired a very large and fast beam towards Lenz and the base. Gohan teleported out to catch it midway, knowing he didn't have the speed to catch up.

He reappeared right behind Lenz, landing and chanting, "Lenz, get out of the way! Kamehame, HAAA!" Gohan's green beam poured out quickly, stopping the large red one in its tracks and forcing it the other way. Frost strengthened his beam from the other side, and the struggle ensued. Gohan powered up with whatever he could, knowing that if he gave out, all of the people in the base would likely be killed. He heard Frost laughing from the other side as he kept up his effort, matching and even overtaking Frost just a little bit. This didn't last as Frost tried a little harder, pushing the collision ball back to a stalemate and coming back towards Gohan a little more. _No, I can't let him beat me!_ Gohan thought, pushing a huge amount of energy out of his hands, more than he thought necessary. The green beam swallowed the red one, and he felt Frost wavering a bit. Just when he released more power to finish the job, Frost's signal vanished. Gohan was floored from behind by a pink leg in white and purple armor, watching his beam fly into space uninterrupted.

"That was a cheap shot!" Gohan declared, trying to catch his breath.

"As I said before, there are no rules in combat. It isn't my fault that you fell for such an obvious trap that was designed to drain you of your energy. Time to pay the piper!" Frost said with a grin, stomping into Gohan's back. Gohan's painful groan filled the area, and continued as his hair turned black once again.

"Getting a little worn down are we? I hope I'm not making you feel too much pain," Frost laughed with a fake sympathetic tone.

"Go to Hell!" Gohan mumbled back, spitting out dirt. Frost stomped into his back harder, getting another painful scream out of him. He sensed movement behind, turning to see Lenz standing there with a blaster on her good arm.

"My dear, do you actually think that is going to do any good?" Frost asked, keeping his foot buried into Gohan's back.

"Its better than sitting around while you get away with this!" Lenz said defiantly. She pressed the button and fired several dozen times, watching in horror as all of the small blasts deflected off his chest with no effect.

"This is how it's done girl, remember this lesson for the future while you watch from the afterlife!" Frost said, firing a small finger beam.

"No!" Gohan shouted as he tried to get up. To no avail though, the pink beam struck Lenz straight through the chest, and she dropped to the ground in a crumpled heap. Gohan's aura reappeared as he felt her life force leaving her, and he instantly transformed with what energy he had left. He jumped away just as Frost let up, landing a few feet away.

"I'm going to make you pay for that," he growled.

"Doubtful boy, your energy is severely drained, and you frankly don't have the kind of power you need to continue this fight. How, disappointing," Frost chuckled, folding his arms. Gohan stormed towards him anyway, and got nailed by a quick burst of punches from the changeling, knocking him backwards and onto one knee. _Argh, I hate to admit it, but he's right._ Gohan took notice of several hundred foot soldiers running out of the base towards their position, and then felt a faint power surge from afar. It was a large ki signal, and very much like his own, a signal that could only belong to his father. _I'd hate to do this, but it seems that I had better get out of here while I still can. I don't want to risk pulling Dad or Vegeta into this one, we clearly underestimated this guy. _

"We'll finish this another time!" Gohan declared, placing his two fingers to his head and concentrating.

"Really, I always thought that Saiyans fought to the death and never retreated! Whatever your plan is boy, it won't work!" Frost declared, lifting his finger again.

"We will meet again Frost, and you will pay for what you've done," Gohan replied, teleporting out. Frost glanced around first, not sensing Gohan anywhere nearby. He picked up on his trail several planets away, along with another signal near him. Both of them faded to nothing quickly. He glanced up to see a faint trail of a ship going by, just before it jumped into hyperspace and left the system.

"Should we try and trace their destination sire?" a soldier asked.

"No, Commander, not right now. We will deal with them when the time is right. Start on trying to recover the lost data. I doubt he or his friends will be back any time soon," Frost replied, powering down and slowly changing form once again.

"But they know the location of this damaged base, they may try to attack again!" the soldier suggested.

"No, they won't. Gohan has seen my true power, and he blew up our database in hopes that we won't find his world. Let them feel at ease until we can track them down again, we will be patient. He took us by surprise, its only natural to return the favor at a later time. Work on reconstructing this base first, and call together our forces. We will deal with these repercussions first, then we will go after Earth," Frost ordered.

-

Gohan reappeared directly in front of Goku, who was standing at Super Saiyan 2 on the bridge, a little surprised as he stood in a similar teleporting pose.

"Gohan, what happened to you?" he asked.

"Never mind that, power down, now! Fenix, get us out of here!" Gohan shouted quickly, dropping his power.

"But wha…?" Goku tried to ask.

"Just do it, quick!" Gohan pleaded.

"Helm, set a course for Earth, maximum speed!" Fenix ordered. The ship's hyper drive roared as they accelerated into deep space, quickly clearing the system and getting beyond Frost's sensing range. Gohan sighed with relief after a few seconds, not sensing Frost at all now.

"Looks like you found yourself a fight," Bardock said once Gohan calmed down.

"You could say that, I'll fill you in as soon as I get something to eat. I've learned a lot of things in the past few hours," Gohan muttered as he headed for the door to the bridge. Goku was inclined to follow, but Bardock held him back, saying to be patient. Gohan trudged through the corridors towards the mess hall, his stomach rumbling in tune with his thoughts. _He let me go, it's the only reasonable explanation. I know he could have followed me if he wanted to finish it now, it's a good thing he didn't. Man, I'm going to have to train a whole lot harder if I'm going to stand up to him again. And my Super Mystic form doesn't last long enough because of that energy balance issue, I need to find a way to maintain it for a longer period of time. If I'm going to keep Earth safe from a force like that, I need to find a way to use all of my power. I'd better see what Verto comes up with after we wish him back. After what I saw him do on Auir, maybe he can teach me something for once._ _Maybe it's a matter of Psi control._ Gohan stepped into the mess hall to see Vegeta munching away, and several Zealots keeping their distance from the gorging prince.

"More food!" he grunted as Gohan approached him. One of the Protoss cooks set down a full tray in front of Gohan along with a cup of water, to which he drank first. Vegeta had an amused look on his face as he saw Gohan's cuts and bruises, but allowed his natural suspicious glances to take over as Gohan began guzzling the water. He sat down and looked at the wall, disappointed with himself. _I'm sorry I couldn't save you Lenz, but I promise to wish you back._ Gohan glanced at the staring Vegeta, but shifted his attention back to his drink while the Saiyan prince looked eager for information.

"So boy, what sort of trouble did you get into for the past four days?" Vegeta asked smugly. Gohan choked instantly, coughing up all the water and spitting it onto the floor. _Four Days!_

**Power levels:**

**Super Mystic Gohan: 700,000,000; weakened: 520,000,000**

**Frost: 600,000,000; 5th form: 740,000,000**

**Next time on DBV: Dabura reveals more secrets of Verto's power, and the two supreme Kais get a visit from a very rude but divine guest.**


	20. Restricted Power

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 19: Restricted Power**

"Spirit Beam Cannon!" I shouted, releasing the powerful chain wrapped beam from my fingertips. I was demonstrating my newly created attack for Dabura at his request, likely to make sure I had done things right. I had spent a good deal of time perfecting my new attack, and making some changes as well. It was no longer a corkscrew shaped beam like the original had been, and for good reason. I had nothing against the original, hell I liked that attack a lot. But it was only good to me against an opponent that was not moving around, or moving at all for that matter. To modify it into a homing attack, I found I had to separate my fingertips even more than to just create a powerful delayed Chi attack. This mostly just changed the appearance of the beam, but it also made it easier to detonate at the end and much easier to charge up. Now instead of a yellow beam and a blue one spiraling around it, I had a chain link effect with the two beams spiraling around each other. I discovered that it was now much easier to control its movement than the original beam cannon. The only thing that really screwed things up was when I changed the beam's direction constantly. It quite often formed a half Ki and half Psi ball that zoomed around on command. Understandable since that always happened to energy beams when I changed their direction more than once, especially if I stopped adding energy. And once it hit something, it detonated with one hell of a bang. As cool as it was, it didn't produce near the power output as the chain beam by itself before maneuvering. I could only conclude that the effect from instant fusion of energy was most effective when the two energies were nowhere near each other to begin with, or at least not touching. I could get triple the damage from the beam cannon if I left it alone to hit a still target, but when I started using its versatility, it lost its extra punch. From what I sensed after using different levels of power, I guessed that the increased power output was only fifty percent additional energy. Not that there was anything wrong with that, at full power it would be a force that could rival a spirit bomb easily, never mind anything else I had done before. But the chances of needing to waste that much power at once was also minimal.

So I had two possible attacks now formed from training just one, the Spirit Beam Cannon, and this homing ball I elected to call the Spirit Orb. I could have just called it a Spirit Ball, it was almost the same, but with all due respect to Yamcha, I didn't want to. Not that there was anything wrong with that attack name, but given the facts, a majority of my attack arsenal made Yamcha's look like a gust of wind. The man had done great things in his day along with the other human fighters, but it was only a matter of time before the evolution of the Saiyans went flying by him, especially when he didn't train much anymore. _Heh, it could be worse for him, at least Mr. Satan has a long way to go before he gets to Yamcha's level._

I polished both techniques before going looking for Dabura, and hopefully a bite to eat. It didn't take too terribly long to find the former demon king atop of one of the skinner mountains, floating there and meditating. It did take some time before he moved though, and I resorted to leaning against another mountain for the next two hours while he finished.

"So, have you developed your abilities as I instructed?" he asked once he flew down to the ground.

"That and a little more," I said, demonstrating them both. After completely obliterating two more mountains that were supposedly resistant to energy attacks, I turned to him for analysis.

"I see you've noticed the drawback of versatile attacks, good work," he noted, watching some of the rubble settle with the dust.

"Yeah, it turned the power way down compared to the other way. I wasn't expecting that, but it does make sense," I added.

"Good, now that you've learned that lesson, we can move on," he replied.

"Question," I said, getting a nod out of him first, "How is it you are able to know the positives of energy fusion when you can't do it yourself?" I asked.

"Very astute question boy, but let's just say that I've done a lot of research," he said before looking away, as if he was trying to dodge the question before truly answering it.

"And where do you go to research such things?" I asked.

"Does anyone ever tell you that you ask too many questions?" he snapped back.

"I've heard it a few times. I like to keep informed rather than in the dark. You and the Kais are not helpful in that regard, answer the question please," I said sharply.

Dabura sighed, but then chuckled slightly, "Get used to being kept in the dark about things, its what the Kais do best. However your question does require an answer, as long as you do not tell anyone about it. Several thousand years ago, when I was younger and still at a foolish age, I was experimenting with the ability to break dimensional barriers for traveling purposes, much like Majin Buu did on Earth, but only for a few seconds, very temporary. Don't even ask me to teach you that though, you are not to learn that," he added, glaring at me sternly.

"It already sounds like something I don't want to screw with, and I prefer flying to get where I'm going. If its anything like the Overmind's warp jump through space, I'll be sick every time," I said in disgust.

"It's actually a lot like that, but that's beside the point. It was around this time that I found my way into a forbidden realm. It resembled most Kai worlds, but it was much smaller and only contained a massive library. Upon entering, I found numerous books on the subject of energy manipulation, including Chi energy. Chi energy alone probably had the most information in the entire place, but I didn't read into other subjects that much. Since I had been an advent user of it for a long time before that, I decided to humor myself by reading them. The very first page suggested that the reader go through all books on Ki based abilities and Psi based abilities before even touching the Chi topic if they were not a divine being or the like. While I didn't go into those subjects yet, I did find out about the energy fusion, and the possible benefits and consequences of it. After memorizing all of that information, I left and attempted to train myself in such a manner. I tried to separate the energy just as the book said, only to find out that since I was a demon, I could not do it. My energy was completely Chi based, and because of this, I could not access some of the more advanced techniques I had seen in the text. Imagine my disappointment when I returned to the library and read a passage that I had skipped, telling that only a select few would ever be able to master such an art. To this day, I've only met two who have the potential," he said, beaming at me.

"Let me guess, me and Gohan," I said with a slight roll of the eyes.

"No. You for sure, I've seen enough to determine that you will be able to master energy fusion, you basically have already. Gohan is quite skilled, but he is like many I have seen that almost possess your kind of power. Gohan simply does not have the mental and physical capacity to constantly interchange his energy like you have done. While you can separate and fuse your Chi power as much as you want, Gohan cannot. He can obviously handle creating it and channeling it, but he lacks the necessary balance of energy to make any sufficient progress. It may not seem like it, but the only way to master Chi is to master Ki and Psi separately and be completely balanced between the two, as you have demonstrated. Gohan will be able to further extend his overall strength and can even use his Psi to recharge his ki power, but I doubt it will be anything past that point. Nothing you try to teach him will work, so don't even consider it. There may be a few Psi techniques he can pick up, but unless there is a hidden spiritual presence lurking under his skin, his abilities are for the most part maxed out. It isn't only a power issue, but a mental one as well. He may in fact be one of the smartest Saiyans to ever exist, but that kind of mental energy is beyond his capacity. Zeratul was correct in what he sensed from the two of you, and that Gohan would be unable to learn anything useful from him," he said, looking a bit confused at his own words. _And I thought I was confused. Maybe that's his way of dodging the question again, by making up a confusing answer. Gohan may in fact be handicapped by that uneven balance between ki and Psi, but I think its because he hasn't trained hard enough with it yet. I guess I'll change topics since he's literally dying to go elsewhere with it._

"How do you know Zeratul anyway?" I asked.

"I have a mental connection with my daughter that allows me to see her thoughts, and she was able to see most of your own as well that of the other Protoss, not to mention the other Saiyans. I cannot read minds myself, but she can. Back to the point, I have seen many beings like Gohan who just weren't good enough or strong enough to advance to your potential level, or are simply not able to based on their existence. I've even seen other beings that had the necessary power and balance to channel Chi from the base energies, only to watch them fall apart at the seams when they attempted it. Their bodies literally melted away when they unlocked the power, and if they didn't kill themselves then, they were certainly unable to do anything with their powers afterwards. It puzzles me greatly sometimes, but it is as if there is a written rule against beings like you even existing. One time during those thousands of years did I learn of one that could have been like you, but he vanished before I could locate him. Shortly thereafter, the library vanished as well, but luckily I had gathered all of the information that I needed far in advance of that. It is amusing to know that I first met the Supreme Kai soon afterwards, as he was once again poking his nose in where it didn't belong, how typical for a Kai. For that reason alone was he so terrified of me, mostly because he knew I could have taught what I learned to Majin Buu after the resurrection. Obviously that never happened. As for the only other one that I've met, it was Majin Buu. No doubt you sensed that yourself when you destroyed him down in hell," Dabura suggested, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Yeah I did, we're all kind of lucky that he never mastered his power and that you never had time to teach him a damn thing. But will he be the same way when he's reincarnated?" I asked.

"I highly doubt it. Coming from a very powerful spirit, he will likely possess deep hidden strength, but I doubt he will even be able to notice any sort of Psi potential, never mind possess it. Very few humans are known for that, though I might be more concerned if he were reborn as a Namekian. As long as that Fat form of Buu doesn't blow his stack or anything, you shouldn't have to concern yourself with that problem. Beware though, if another Majin Buu forms from that obese piece of chewing gum, destroy it immediately," Dabura said, though it sounded more like an order.

"You don't have to worry about that. So how much of this information are you going to pass down to me, I can tell by the way you've carried on that you're planning on it," I said with a slight frown.

"I will teach you what I can, and hopefully you can pick most of it up. The next thing you will learn is how to more effectively fight defensively and how to truly use a Chi shield. Then we will explore the depths of your potential a little more with abilities that will likely piss off the Kais, but what else is new?" Dabura chuckled with a slight shrug.

"One more question, did you ever find that one being you mentioned before this library vanished? Did you ever find out where he disappeared to?" I asked, somewhat interested.

Dabura paused for a moment, giving me a very strange look while narrowing his eyes, "No, there was no trace of where that being went, I never found him."

I snorted slightly at this, but kept quiet. _Another artful dodge, it's almost as if his whole speech had a hidden message that tells me to shut the hell up. Oh well, back to training._

**Interlude 19.1 –Old Kai and the Visitor-**

"Kibito, are you done making that tea yet?" Old Kai asked, getting impatient.

"Sorry elder, it's taking a little longer than I expected. It should be done in just a minute or two," Kibitoshin called back, hoping that it would indeed be done soon.

"Well hurry it up, we should have it ready for our guest! It's only proper to have tea ready and made for a guest, never mind an Elder God!" Old Kai shouted. A few seconds later, a tall figure dawned in white materialized on the grass in front of them.

"Oh, your excellency!" Old Kai bowed just after getting up, Kibito bowing shortly afterwards.

"I see you haven't changed much since that debacle with the witch, no surprise for lower beings such as yourselves," the figure commented rudely. Old Kai cleared his throat, but kept it at that. The newcomer was clearly female with white and silky hair that hung down her back in a thick pony tail, and as one might expect, she was extremely beautiful. She was dressed in a white and violet kimono style robe with twin swords hanging on the left side. Her eyes were slightly slanted, with blue tattoos extending from her eyebrows, forked like a snake's tongue. This was the kind of woman that makes you think of an unstoppable storm, yet was as calm as a hurricane's eye. To the two Kais before her, her presence meant one thing to them, a being of overwhelming power and one that demanded their respect, even if she did not return it.

"So, are you prepared to make your report?" she asked in a stern voice.

"Yes, Madam Venestra. As you probably know already, the creature known as Majin Buu has been dealt with, and the long crisis to this sector of the universe is over. And the beings responsible for his creation and eventual rebirth have been eliminated from the mortal realm," Old Kai said as if he memorized a speech.

"Yes, we know about that you simpleton. I am curious about the other events that have been happening lately, and this Buu character seems to be only the beginning of it all. First off, how did a rip in your portion of the mortal realm occur? That alone is what caused that wizard to get a hold of the former demon king and eventually resurrect that creature Buu again. And this also allowed the Overmind and the Protoss to cross over to your domain. There are not many beings even remotely capable of ripping through a dimensional wall in this realm, never mind on the mortal plane. Do you two have an explanation for this?" Venestra asked, stomping her foot slightly. Old Kai backed off slightly in fear, waving Kibitoshin to step up and face the music with him.

"Sorry your majesty, I don't have an explanation. I simply do not know how it was formed, but it had to have been within the past three thousand years or so. It was not there the last time I checked the stability of this realm. Since I don't know how it got there, we can't fix it. But it doesn't appear to be hurting anything right now," Kibito said meekly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't be such a fool, if this rip remains, it could cause the eventual collapse of this realm and the next. However, I do not believe that it is just your problem. We have gotten reports from other realms with the same problem, though their cultures for the most part have stayed where they belong. I cannot say the same for you, but I suppose you have continued your lucky streak as of late," she said, looking very annoyed as both Kais grinned sheepishly.

"We'll be sure to keep you informed of any major changes then," Old Kai said, trying to sound sincere.

"There is one other thing that we are interested in. It's that Saiyan who destroyed the Buu creature," she said, turning the other way as if she was deep in thought.

"Goku?" Kibito asked just as Old Kai clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Not that Super Saiyan you imbecile. What he did was respectable and we surely admire his fighting spirit considering his heritage. I was referring to that boy who appeared not long ago, I think you both know the one. A creature as powerful as the Overmind rarely takes interest in any one being, and the kid destroyed it. This boy has tremendous hidden powers that have been partially awakened before his time, I believe I have you two to thank for that," Venestra snapped suddenly, giving them a glare that rivaled Chichi.

"We had to do it, that dimension has suffered enough because of our lack of interference! That boy may have a great destiny ahead of him, but his power was needed now. Otherwise we would risk destroying the one thing he needs to keep sane, a kind heart. If we didn't awaken his powers now and give him training time to adjust to them, he would have ended up becoming a monster just like Majin Buu, or perhaps even worse!" Old Kai argued while Kibito tried to get him to settle down. The woman was unfazed by this outburst, like she was expecting it.

"You don't know that. Just because you saw a vision of it doesn't mean that it would have occurred that way. You two seem to forget that the future is always changing and always in motion with every casual step you take. Now his future is unpredictable and potentially dangerous. This kid's power could someday challenge the Elder Gods, and we do not take such threats lightly," she replied calmly, though still clearly irritated.

"So what do you wish us to do? We can't possibly keep him up here, and his friends in the mortal realm would only use the power of an eternal dragon to bring him back to life if we had him killed. Your kind could act directly against him, and cause a mess in the process," Old Kai noted.

"We have already discussed this in council. Since we do not know his true intentions nor his current rate of development, we have elected to simply monitor him for now. If he becomes more of a threat, then we may take steps to deal with him appropriately," she answered, turning around on her heel.

"Yes, we'll be happy to keep you updated on him as needed," Old Kai said, smiling as if he had won a gold medal.

"Yeah right, like we would use the two of you as credible sources of information. We will instead send an operative to that world and test things for ourselves. I strongly suggest that you do not interfere with the mortal domain anymore until we have given the all clear. These are strange and tedious events surrounding that boy, we will see for ourselves what the future will bring. Our operative will be stationed on Earth very soon and will contact us directly from there. You will see to it that nothing happens to screw that up, is that understood?" she asked, bending towards the two cowering Kais just slightly.

"Yes Excellency!"

"Good, see that you two don't botch this up!" Venestra said in an angry tone as she vanished.

"Was she talking about Verto or Gohan?" Kibito asked.

"Take your pick, they are likely both being watched, but I'm sure she didn't mean Gohan," Old Kai said, looking quite irritated.

"How did we end up in this mess?" Kibito asked with a slight slump of the shoulder.

"We? What's this we stuff you keep talking about? See to it that her orders are followed!" Old Kai said, sipping a cup of tea as Kibito sighed. _This is going to be a rough time for Verto and Gohan once again. Hopefully the Earth stays calm during this period of controlled Chaos_, he thought as he gazed upwards to the sky.

**Interlude 19.2 –Arrival-**

"Okay Olibu, Videl, are you ready?" Fasha asked with a deep grin on her face. Both of her opponents nodded and slipped into a stance.

"Anytime then!" she shouted, preparing to defend herself as the two humans rushed at her. Nearby, King Kai looked on, pleased that Videl had advanced enough to at least fight on a similar level as the other girl. Fasha still outclassed her by a great deal, Olibu was the only decent challenge she had out of this sparring match, and she would only need to go Super Saiyan to end that. Still, he felt that he had trained Videl well enough in a short time to at least keep her alive the next time a super villain dropped by for a chat. It had been a few days since Verto left with Dabura, so he and the two girls were a little on the bored and concerned side. Then Olibu showed up for a match and perked them all up instantly, or at least it did for the girls. Still he felt a little unneeded now that Videl was up to speed, most of her training could be completed on her own now, meaning he would be very bored soon. At least with Verto around he could count on having to worry about the kid's power tearing up the planet more than once every few hours, that kept things from being boring. For a moment King Kai was starting to nod off before he heard an engine roaring not far away before it come to a stop.

"Hey, let go of me!" he heard a shout from behind his house. The sparring match continued as he got up from his rocking chair to check out what was going on. There he saw East Kai stomping towards him, dragging someone behind her. He waited until his counterpart walked all the way up, watching her dump a young and scantily dressed girl onto the ground in front of him.

"Here you go, you can have her!" she shouted before turning around.

"Who is this?" King Kai asked.

"She is the newest recruit that King Yemma sent me. The buffoon claimed that she is from my quadrant, but she is part Saiyan so she cannot be! Frankly I can't stand her! Enjoy!" East Kai roared as she stomped toward her scooter, hopping on and riding off into the distance.

"Wow, it must be that time of the millennia," King Kai chuckled slightly as the exhaust from her vehicle settled. The girl on the ground looked a little surprised to say the least, but didn't seem to know what was going on.

"So, I take it you're my newest student," King Kai asked, blushing slightly as he could not resist to steal a glance or two, _Good thing I always wear sunglasses. _

"I'm not really sure. Some big dude sent me up here and I was told I had to go to that lady with the hat. All she did was nag me to death about having no power and no clothes. Well excuse me, but I just died, it's a miracle I even have clothes! Besides, they would probably weigh a hundred kilos up here, man this gravity is bad," the girl said, dusting her bare skin off.

"We can't have you looking like that though, we do need some decency up here. As for the gravity, it should help with any training you plan on doing. There we are!" King Kai said as he flipped his antennae around and gave her a dark purple colored gi to go with her hair. She shifted and grunted slightly as he gave her a blue weighted shirt as well.

"Now, I'm North Kai, or King Kai, whichever you prefer. I watch over the northern quadrant of the galaxy. I can see that you are a Saiyan, or at least partially. What is your name?" he asked.

"Lenz, I'm Rotian. Half Saiyan and Half Rotarian. And what sort of training can I get up here?" Lenz asked, looking pretty interested in the sparring match going on behind King Kai, despite not being able to keep up with it.

"Disregard them for the time being, they are far beyond your current level. Come inside and we can discuss things," King Kai replied, leading her into his house as the three warriors kept going.


	21. Dabura's Pillar O' Fun

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 20: Dabura's Pillar O' Fun**

"I see, I never realized that Frost kept a stash of pure blooded Saiyans away from Frieza, but then again it was outside of my domain. East Kai gets a little upset when myself or others look into her quadrant, even though she rarely checks on things as it is. Must be maintenance on that wig, which could surely drag her down, I mean have you seen the size of that thing?" King Kai joked, barely getting a twitch out of Lenz after she gave her story. He waited for a second before knowing that she wasn't going to budge towards laughter, _Bah, typical Saiyan._

"Anyway, how far are you in your training? Any Saiyan no matter what age surely has some experience," King Kai added.

Lenz's shoulders slumped a bit more than they had been, "Not much other than how to use my fists and feet, my father and mother were not able to teach me very much other than basic combat moves," she said with an embarrassed tone.

"I see, this may take awhile. How long do you plan on staying here?" he asked.

"What do you mean, I'm dead aren't I?" she asked, stunned at the question and frankly unsure.

"Well you mentioned that you were killed in the line of fire and that you had planned to head back to Earth with Gohan. It stands to reason that he will probably wish you back when the time comes. I'd guess that you have just shy of six months before you have to deal with life again, as the two other girls and another around here will be wished back at about the same time. That should be fairly sufficient for you once you get the hang on things. Training with me on this planet for six months is like training for several thousand years on a normal planet, plus you have a lot of fighters to learn from if needs be. Shouldn't be a problem, and its been awhile since I've had to train someone weaker than me, but I'll give it my best shot," King Kai explained, rolling up his sleeves and cracking his knuckles a bit.

"So I take it I can stay here while I train?" she asked, though she didn't need to.

"As long as you can handle doing the dishes, yes. Just try not to break too many of them when you start getting stronger, but I imagine you'll probably have a lot of them to do," King Kai joked, but thinking that Lenz knew what he meant by that.

"So where do we start?" Lenz asked, standing at a ready position.

"First a basic strength and speed test, try to punch me in the face, right now!" King Kai ordered. Lenz looked stunned but complied and rushed towards him as fast as she could, which wasn't very fast at all since she wasn't used to the gravity. She reeled back and punched forward as hard as she could towards his face, seeing her healed fist caught easily by a blue hand she never saw coming.

"This might take longer than I expected, at least Bubbles will be happy for awhile," King Kai muttered as he walked towards the door. Lenz followed slowly, a little disappointed at her failed attempt. She spotted the three sparring partners walking up, dirty and sweaty from their sparring match. Olibu changed directions after waving goodbye, and the two girls were chattering about needing a bath. She eyed Fasha carefully, mostly noticing her spiky hair and tail.

"You're a Saiyan," she pointed out.

"Takes one to know one," Fasha grinned back, wiping her face off with a towel that Videl handed her.

"What about you?" Lenz asked.

"Nope, just a regular Earthling," Videl said, wiping her own face off.

"Yeah, who just happens to be mated to the strongest Saiyan out there," Fasha said, rolling her eyes.

"Your Gohan's mate?" Lenz asked, astonished. This turned Fasha and Videl's cheerful glance into a suspicious and surprised one respectively.

"Who are you, girl?" Fasha asked with a much colder tone as she looked her over. _Wow, can't say I've ever been jealous like this before. Even Clerpe has nothing on this girl's looks, other than the height of course._

"You've met Gohan? How is he, is he alright?" Videl asked a little more hysterically.

"I'll fill you two in later, right now she needs to start her training. Bubbles!" King Kai called out. The quick monkey stumbled closer from a nearby tree, looking eager to have a little fun.

"Hold up, she needs to pass the initiation!" Fasha claimed, grinning very evilly at both King Kai and Videl, who returned it. Lenz looked nervous, then surprised at what she had to do. The joke she came up with after about 5 minutes barely made the Kai twitch and made the other two girls frown in disappointment when even he gave up.

King Kai only sighed, "Like I said, you've got a lot of work to do, better get to it. We can work on the humor thing later," King Kai pointed as Bubbles had already taken off at a very slow walking speed.

---

"Yes, this should do nicely," Dabura said, looking up at a rather skinny mountain. Before he mentioned what he would be teaching me next, he went scouting for what he called the perfect mountain to test my skills in the manner he wanted. I wasn't really sure what he wanted me to do quite honestly, and why it would involve a mountain, other than blowing it up of course.

"Alright, I want you to fly up to the top and stand or sit there, whichever you prefer. The rules are simple, you cannot leave that small area until this drill is over, and no floating above it. Should part of it give way or be destroyed, you will be allowed to float downwards, but you must stay on top of the mountain. Try not to resort to your transformation until you have to!" Dabura said, vague as ever. _Okay, now what the hell is he going to have me do, just stand there? Somehow I doubt it._ I flew up to the top as he had directed and planted myself on its rather small peak. It was rounded off and about five feet in diameter, so my legs had plenty of room to shift around if need be. Dabura waited until I had looked things over before flying upwards and staring me down, his power fluctuating just a little bit.

"So are you going to tell me what I'm supposed to do up here that I couldn't do down there?" I asked carefully. He didn't answer, only stared back as if he was measuring me up. I frowned slightly and returned the stare as his power level started to rise just a bit more. _He's going to do something, maybe he just wants me to defend his attacks without moving from this spot so I can focus on only defense, he's mentioned it after all._ I spread my legs slightly and readjusted my arms, ready for whatever assault Dabura was about to throw at me. Dabura's stare relaxed just a bit as I did this, and he backed off just a bit and crossed his arms.

"Well?" I asked, a bit impatiently. No answer came from the demon, and somehow I wasn't overly surprised. I crossed my own arms and tapped my foot slightly, already bored at what Dabura was doing, or lack thereof. My foot then stepped down just a bit too hard and a small chunk came off the edge of the mountaintop. I didn't think much of it as I glanced down and readjusted my feet, but its meaning hit pretty fast. A sudden red beam came rushing in where my right foot had been, polishing the jagged corner as I barely avoided it. I glanced back at Dabura, who held his finger outstretched.

"What was that for?" I asked by instinct, trying to sort out what Dabura was doing. The thought that he was attacking me came to mind, but that seemed to be the point. I kept my senses on him and glanced back at the small corner that was torn off the mountain, seeing that it was still bright red and steaming. I sensed a sudden Chi surge from him and dodged another beam aimed for my head. It sailed through and blew up on the ground harmlessly, but catching my attention to what he was up to. _So that's his game, be ready and patient at all times while he takes pop shots at me, great._ His energy surged again, but he kept it centered on the air between his hands. A large hourglass appeared there and he allowed it to float into the sky, slowly draining.

"You have until this runs out until this drill is over. I suggest you don't dwell on remaining time, it can be distracting," Dabura suggested before assuming a cross-legged sitting position in mid air, crossing his arms and shutting his eyes. _Great, looks like this is going to take awhile to even get interesting._

-

I wasn't sure how much time passed until Dabura even moved again, but it was awhile. I stood in my powerup stance the entire time, staring him down while he floated with his arms crossed. His energy didn't even flare for the longest time, so blinking and breathing was not a problem, but it did get boring in a hurry. Not much of the hourglass sand seemed to dump into the other side, and it quickly became clear that I was going to be here for a long time. I scowled slightly, I wasn't very patient as it was, and it was showing badly again. Shortly thereafter, I sensed Dabura's energy finally flare. He did something unexpected though, and allowed it to disperse around him and then slowly spin around him. I barely detected it with my eyes, but there was a spinning circle of red Chi around his form, not very thick either. This shield of his then spun faster until I barely saw its movement, a process that did not take long. In no time it looked and felt like the shield he had used against Friezell, at least the initial one. The one that blocked against the death ball wasn't like this one, otherwise it would have torn up half the stadium. This one wasn't a bunch of thick energy layers like that one had been. _Maybe quick rotation is what makes it stronger without adding energy, is that the lesson he's trying to get across here? Hell for all I know its been one big lesson ever since the tournament._ A spark lit from his shield and spun around once before releasing itself in the form of a small blast, heading right towards me. I deflected it easily with one hand, seeing another coming already. _He must want me to attempt to do the same_. I quickly charged up my aura and spun it around in the same fashion, quickly forming a dim green shield despite the fact that my aura was naturally silver and clear. Dabura's attacks ceased for a moment, giving me time to examine just what I was attempting. It didn't feel that much stronger, but it felt a lot more versatile. I had been able to easily maneuver the energy around to the point of attack before, much like Aldaris had done, but this seemed a whole lot simpler now, and it didn't require near as much energy. Hell, it felt like I was just trying to use my Storm technique, only to block instead of attack. _And to think fighting that old goat again wouldn't teach me anything new._

I allowed the shield to expand slightly out to about 10 feet, keeping my eye on Dabura as I did so, and shaving off part of the mountain peak in the process as I now hovered in the air. _Note to self, do not use this when there are bystanders that can touch it, and if so, keep the emotions in check._ It shimmered slightly and I kept moving faster and faster, now at a similar intensity that I couldn't even see anymore, much like Dabura's. Speaking of which, I spotted him charging up more blasts, but this time a hailstorm of them came raining down, easily numbering over a hundred. I added a bit more energy to the shield, making it glow even brighter as the first few blasts made impact and bounced clean off. I narrowed my eyes a bit to block out some of the light coming from the shield impact, as it produced more than I expected. Every blast either exploded off the shield or was deflected and blew up elsewhere. I came away pleased, only to look up in dread, seeing Dabura charging up a huge beam in his hands and giving off a devilish grin that fit him well. I crossed my arms in front of my face and added a lot of energy to the shield, seeing it glow as bright as the sun. With a feral yell, his red beam came crashing down, hitting the shield and surrounding it, trying to penetrate any weak spot. My shield began to weaken as I sensed that he was adding power to his red beam. I growled slightly, knowing that he was trying to push me on purpose. I added more energy and the shield seemed to weaken even more despite that fact. _What the hell is wrong? His beam is going to swallow me if I don't add energy, but its not working?_

I quickly searched for the solution before realizing something, I was adding a decent but not huge amount of energy to the shield, but I wasn't moving it around like he had shown me before. I gulped slightly, and allowed my shield to spin once again, prepping for the possibility of the red beam leaking through. To my surprise, my shield dimmed once again, and the red beam began to disperse until only the continued beam from Dabura was left. _I get it, just bulk amounts of energy don't do anything other than block against attacks. Rotation is what keeps those blasts off of me by deflecting them away._ Once his beam stopped making any sort of progress, Dabura ceased his attack and floated towards me.

"Good work boy, you picked that one up quickly. We will spend the rest of the allotted time polishing your defensive shield through practice drills like this one, and you will learn how to counterattack without having to move or drop your shield," Dabura explained. I looked at him cautiously while glancing quickly at the hourglass, which had barely made any progress.

"Just how much time will pass before that thing is empty?" I asked.

"About two days or so," he said sternly. My stomach growled on cue, almost as if it were begging for a merciful final meal.

"You will have to ignore your body's needs until that time is over, this is also a test of stamina. We will return to the Grand Kai's planet once you have mastered the Chi shield technique," Dabura growled, crossing his arms. _Great, and I thought I was hungry now, this is going to seem like a breeze in two days._

**Interlude 20.1 –Nightmares-**

Gohan glanced around at his surroundings in shock. One minute he had been relaxing by a pond, the next the skies had turned crimson red and the grass was replaced by red tinted dirt completely void of life. He scanned around with his senses, not picking up anything nearby, not even a small animal.

"What happened?" he whispered. He turned suddenly to his left and spotted a motionless and bloody form on the ground. Running over, he turned the body to recognize Vegeta.

"Oh no, who did this?" he asked himself. Not far away, he spotted Piccolo and Trunks, in nearly the same condition. He growled slightly, looking around for the assailant. Another motionless body crossed his eyes, this one female. His eyes drooped and then widened as he confirmed his mother's dead form.

"No, no…" he cried softly.

"G-Gohan," a meek voice whispered from his right. Goten lay there, barely twitching, as his right arm lay outstretched.

"Goten, who did this?" Gohan asked, almost in hysterics at this point.

"Up, ugh, up there!" Goten groaned before passing out. Gohan shifted his gaze to a small building in the distance, one that resembled a house of some kind. He stalked up there cautiously but sternly, very interesting in paying whoever was responsible back, in spades. As he approached, he spotted another unmoving but breathing form, and the uniform was a dead giveaway before he even saw his father's hair. His body was in shambles, with what looked to be several broken limbs and some sort of injury to the midsection that was soaking his orange uniform.

Gohan raced up, "Dad? Wake up! Who did this to you?" Goku didn't answer, only groaned and shifted in pain.

"Heh, will you look at that? The insane monkey does care for others!" an old and familiar voice stated. Gohan glanced up and opened his eyes wide in shock.

"What, Aldaris? But you're dead!" Gohan exclaimed. A shadowy figure emerged behind the elder Templar and walked up beside him, much larger than Aldaris in both height and mass with a completely black coat of skin along with menacing red eyes.

"The Overmind and Broly!" Gohan whispered, his voice trembling. Both figures laughed for a moment at Gohan's dismay, keeping tight smirks pasted on their faces.

"Why did you do this? And how did you come back to life?" Gohan shouted in anger. The two continued laughing, as if they were ignoring his question.

"They didn't do any of this," a deep voice said from behind. Gohan turned to see Frost behind him, transformed into this fifth form.

"Then it was you, how dare you come to my planet and hurt my family!" Gohan growled with his aura flaring, ready to put the changeling down.

"I did nothing of the sort," Frost declared.

"Then who did it?"

"Look at the stupid monkey, he still hasn't figured it out!" Frost laughed along with the others.

"WHO!" Gohan shouted angrily as he stomped the ground, cracking it in several places.

"If you want to know so bad, why don't you enter and find out for yourself?" Frost dared. Gohan's angry expression deepened as he turned, heading straight for the front door as the other villains continued their laughter. _Whoever you are, you're going straight to hell_! He opened the door and spotted the figure standing at the window, the room though was much too dark to see his face. Gohan stepped towards him quickly and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around to look him in the eye. Once he saw his face, Gohan screamed.

"Wake up Gohan!" Goku shouted, shaking his son's shoulders while he tossed and turned.

"No, it can't be, it can't be!" Gohan said just as he opened his eyes and caught his breath. The sight of Goku's concerned face calmed him a bit, making him come to his senses and calm down a bit.

"Another nightmare?" Goku asked as he released Gohan's shoulders.

"Yeah," Gohan said grimly.

"What's the matter then? Is it something your worried about, is it about Videl? Maybe it's the bond," Goku suggested.

"No, those nightmares were different, they never scared me like that! I haven't had a nightmare like that since, before Cell," Gohan explained, holding his head slightly.

"That's the fourth night in a row, I'm getting a little worried about you Gohan. I talked to King Kai, and he said everything on Earth was just fine. Same goes for Videl and the others up in other world. He did mention that Verto and the others had to fight some sort of super strong demon but managed to beat it and no one was hurt or killed. If that isn't it, then what is it?" Goku asked, stroking his chin slightly in thought.

"Maybe its just space nerves or something, I'm sure it'll pass," Gohan said, getting up and stretching a bit.

"That's what you said three days ago," Goku replied as Gohan left the room, feeling his father's concerned stare even when the door shut behind him. Gohan walked through the halls of the ship, heading for the room designated for training. _Maybe a light workout will help me get some sleep._ Upon entering, he strode over to the mirror and got a good look at his face. His eyes were slightly baggy from a lack of sleep over the week, his hair was messy and his face was a bit pale. _Hopefully this will pass once we get back to Earth, I feel like I have the flu or something. The only thing is, I've never been sick before._ Gohan stared at his own eyes for a moment and then proceeded to do some warm up stretches as the stars continued to zoom by the window.


	22. MIA

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 21: Missing in Action**

Dabura wasn't kidding about testing my stamina, but most of his test seemed to be more about patience than anything else. Shortly after making sure I could master summoning my polished shield, he went back to meditation for what felt like eight hours while instructing me to get used to the feel of everything. What I discovered in that amount of time was how I could use my shield to fire off energy blasts without even moving my hands by adding the bulk amounts of energy that didn't do the shield any good. Since the shield was in a constant state of motion, I could just let a blast catch the rotation and release it when ready. Only thing was, it tended to fire off a little off target, so it took some getting used to since I wasn't aiming with just my hands. Something else that I noticed was since this was very fast rotating energy, I could fire off my energy storms easily, and a few mountains got cleaved apart during such a test. The shield's energy drained pretty fast when using it as a storm generator, but the effect was devastating enough. I also noticed that it was much easier to focus the shield and any sort of attack with a hand up to help channel the energy outwards, but this was really a moot point if I had enough time to dodge.

After a few hours of this training I meditated a bit myself, keeping a general eye on Dabura just in case he suddenly decided to continue. I knew that Vegeta probably wouldn't approve of these kind of tactics, but I gave Dabura the benefit of the doubt, after all it had worked on me. What felt like eight hours turned into about a day's worth of training, as I was able to keep my mind off of the hourglass until I noticed that it was half empty. It wasn't until then that I felt a little tired, though I hadn't spent that much energy, mostly just going without sleep for so long. I started to nod off when Dabura restarted the drill, waking me up with a lovely blast that nearly forced me off the mountaintop. Then it was a constant barrage of small Chi blasts that kept my attention for the better part of an hour, most of which I deflected easily with my shield. Half of the mountain got destroyed during that, and it became easier to deflect his blasts away since they more or less came from the same direction. I realized how careful I was going to have to be when it came to bystanders, one randomly deflected blast could take an unfortunate direction. Then he powered up, things weren't so easy after that until I did the same and transformed a few minutes later.

Almost predictably, he stopped attacking once I made the change to Super Mystic, as if he was waiting for it. Here I was, all charged up and awake again, and he suddenly stopped, flew a few miles away and went back to his meditation. I wasn't overly happy with him for doing that, and since the rule of not moving was in play, he probably didn't hear my angry shouts that shook the land a time or two. I calmed down though, ready to power down and do the same. Just as my energy dropped a bit, another one of his big beams came tearing through and it forced me to stay powered up for awhile. I understood what he was getting at pretty quickly once that happened, he wanted me to stay powered up for as long as possible, and then he would likely start attacking again towards the end of it all. As expected, exactly that transpired just as I was starting to fall asleep again, despite being powered up. The only good thing about that was the one blast that hit me set a fire in my blood that kept me going the rest of the way. Spinning that damn shield all the time got taxing and extremely dull after awhile, especially if Dabura wasn't doing anything to test it. My stomach stayed pretty calm for the most part during the Super Mystic phase of the drill, it wasn't until afterwards that it growled hello again. Once the hourglass ran out, it simply fell apart and vanished into midair, and so did the small trace of energy that it was forged with.

"I trust you are comfortable with your improved shield technique now?" Dabura asked as we traveled back to the Grand Kai's world through the tunnel.

"I got sick of it actually, but yeah I think I've got everything down. Right now I need some food and then I'm going to bed," I replied in an ugly voice.

"Your contempt is understandable, you may train as you like for the time being. There are some other things I would like to discuss with you, but it can wait until you're in a patient mood. I can tell that you are lacking that right now, and have been for most of that drill," he explained.

"Geee, what gave that away, my sparkling smile," I grumbled back.

"More or less," he replied as we reached the other side.

"To be honest I'm not sure how often I'm going to use it. It's a Saiyan thing," I explained briefly.

"You should always approach every battle differently than the last, balancing your abilities is key. I really don't care whether you use this defensive style in the future or not, the point is that you know it! The greatest warriors are the ones who do not rely on a single way of fighting, so do as you wish!" he replied. _Wow, another lecture I missed out on._

-

I flew back to King Kai's place alone once I left the long staircase leading back to the trap door, noting how late it was according to the dark skies. _Damnit, they're probably going to all be in bed, I feel that I could out eat Goku right now. Guess I'll just have to cook myself, ugh, that could be ugly._ I touched down and spotted Bubbles running towards me, though he wasn't in any kind of hurry. I sensed Videl and King Kai sleeping in the house, but didn't sense Fasha nearby. Once I actually tried to look for her though, I felt her presence over near the hot springs. _Late night swim, go figure. If I weren't so damn tired I'd join her, I could probably use a bath._

"Hey Bubbles, what are you running from now?" I asked as he strode towards me, banana in hand. He looked extremely excited about something and was pointing in the eastward direction. I didn't spot anything initially, but then heard a far off voice shouting our way.

"Get back here you mangy little ape!" a female voice rang through, bit of a screech actually. King Kai's energy signal shifted to amusement suddenly, thus giving me the answer to whomever this was coming over the horizon. _Must have a new recruit, she better not bug the hell out of me though, I'm in a bad enough mood as it is. Oh well, I'll get through the introduction part soon enough and just try to keep calm about it, no need to stir up trouble just because of Dabura's wonderful two and a half days of training. Knowing me though, my mouth will get me in trouble._ The recruit in question came trudging over the horizon a few minutes later, obviously tired from chasing the monkey, which to her probably could have won a few car races easily. As she came closer, I began to feel something strange from her. She wasn't evil by any means, but her energy felt extremely familiar, almost as if I had been around it all my life. I was able to make out her figure in the darkness as she approached, spotting dark purple hair and a very light tan color for skin. It wasn't really tan, but it wasn't pale either, sort of like how a lightly tanned skin looks in a certain light. As she staggered towards me and Bubbles, I quickly took note of the tail that was dragging behind.

_She looks to be part Saiyan, but that doesn't add up completely with the purple hair, but then again Fasha's hair is more of a dark brown color,_ I noted silently. She was panting heavily as she came to a stop, staring daggers at Bubbles, who only jumped up and down, adding to her rage. She leapt forward and swiped at him, completely missing him and barely missing my boot as she dropped to the ground. I scanned her ki level, getting back a signal that bordered on barely existent. She didn't feel like she had been training for very long, especially if she was having trouble catching Bubbles, even with weighted clothes. Bubbles danced a bit and headed inside while the girl picked her self up from her embarrassing situation.

"That didn't just happen! You tell no one about it short stack, otherwise you'll answer to me!" she rasped as she stood up. She looked young and very attractive for her age, but probably close to full grown at about five and a half feet. She was also very weak, though I did sense some potential within her. If anything, I would have guessed her to be the head cheerleader for a sports team, the one the guys always stare at the most, and the one who usually has a lot to show off. Unfortunately, her short stack comment erased whatever intention of being nice that I had for right now.

"Lot of talk from a weakling, especially if you can't catch a little monkey," I sneered back. Her anger then focused on me, giving me the stare down.

"Watch your tongue you brat! Otherwise I'll beat you to a bloody pulp!" she shouted back.

"I'd like to see you try, however I wouldn't want to get bitched at for beating up a defenseless girl. Come talk to me after you catch Bubbles, though it won't make much of a difference," I said, walking towards the house. I sensed her gearing up for an attack and quickly spun to see just that, but her motion was so incredibly slow that I thought I would fall asleep before blocking it. I settled for quickly snatching her wrist out of the air, startling her.

"Don't do that. You'll probably break more than just a nail," I warned, turning again.

"Come back here, fight like a man! Or do you need to change your diaper first?" she asked.

"If I had a diaper, it would probably beat you easily," I replied without turning, though I did stop just to hear what she came up with next.

"Fine, you think that little monkey isn't much, you try and catch him tough guy!" she dared. Bubbles started squawking suddenly, holding his head where there was still a large bump from hitting my leg before.

"I don't think he's up for it today, apparently his head is still sore from a previous engagement. Are you done fuming yet, you'll get gray hair at this rate. And then your body will start to sag. Better enjoy your semi-decent looks while you can," I answered, walking into the house finally. She stayed outside for a few minutes longer, settling down with some random swearing at the grass.

-

I went straight to King Kai's cupboard with that strange interdimensional food dispenser. I opened it up and prepared to get my meal, but wasn't sure what to get. Anything sounded good right now, but the prospect of cooking it did not. _Hmmm, I wonder if I can just get a Senzu Bean up here?_ Instantly a small bean materialized in my hand. _Literally just think what you want, I wonder if it stole it directly from Korin's tower._ I devoured it a moment later, noting how I had forgotten their rocky flavor. My fatigue lifted instantly, and my stomach filled as my energy level returned to normal. My mood also lightened a bit, thankfully since the rude girl entered the room a moment later.

"Don't ask me to cook anything. I've done enough of that for that hog that is staying here!" she said sternly, clearly not referring to me but hitting close enough to home.

"That's okay, I'm sure Videl is a better cook anyway," I said, getting a nice little snarl out of her a moment later. I turned on the lamp a moment later and her anger towards me suddenly lightened a bit.

"What is it now?" I asked, giving her an eyeful as I stared back. Her angry face had totally shifted into one of confusion and slight fear.

"You look, like Gohan. You look a lot like him!" she cried out, suddenly very fearful. She obviously thought we were related or something and that our powers were similar, it wasn't worth asking if she had met him.

"So, where did you bump into him?" I asked, sitting down at the table and somewhat interested.

"Well, you see, he sort of bumped into me, but it was on his way home…" she began.

The conversation proceeded as one would expect, and the concept of more Saiyans out there got my attention shortly after she gave her name and race. Though I quickly got bored when Lenz tried to describe Gohan's battle with Frost. Her warning that a new villain other than Frost was on his way to Earth, but she was very bewildered when I said that he was already dead. She noted that Gohan had a similar reaction before she had gotten a glimpse at his power. When she started going into dealing with King Yemma and East Kai, Fasha walked in, fresh from the hot spring, and wearing nothing but a towel.

"Well, I see you're no worse for the wear, have any fun while you were gone?" she asked.

"Not really, I did learn how to put up with a demon king for two and a half days without food or sleep. What about you?" I asked, flashing her a slight grin.

"Oh the usual, beat up someone in a sparring match, and get filthy in the process. Soak in the hot springs and wish someone would bathe with me, after all that is about all you can do right now," she winked back, clearly sending the message.

"Oh wow, I didn't think pure blood Saiyans actually practiced incest. I mean, I know he's cute and all, but isn't he a bit too young?" Lenz asked. My eyes went slightly wide at this, staring at her as if she had suddenly lost it. Fasha erupted with laughter, though I had to admit, it was very funny once it was clear the girl didn't know what she was talking about.

"I take it you thought she was my sister?" I asked, chuckling slightly.

"What is she then, your mother?" Lenz asked next. Fasha's laughter cut out just then as she caught a glimpse of the joke forming in my mind.

"Age wise she could pass for that," I said, dodging the ki blast that was fired a moment later.

"I'll remember that one," Fasha said with a challenging grin.

"She asked, I answered. It was an honest question wasn't it? Just don't forget to back it up when you cash in, how about after lunch tomorrow?" I asked, knowing full well what she was getting at.

"You're on!" Fasha smiled, walking up the stairs.

"What does she want? Lenz asked, slightly annoyed.

"A rough sparring match, I don't blame her either, its been a few days. But I'll probably take it easy on her, I'm mentally worn out," I replied, stretching slightly and heading for the stairs.

"Verto, is it? Sorry for my little outburst, I didn't know you," Lenz said in a meek tone.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure we'll have plenty more arguments that have meaning. That is if you're really supposed to go back to earth with us. Ugh, good night," I said with a slight yawn.

-

Fasha glared daggers at me as I awaited her next move. We had been sparring for about an hour, but I had been taking it very easy on her and it was driving her crazy. I had decided to put most of Dabura's defensive ideas to the test, and was amazed at how many different attack patterns I could sniff out before finding a weakness, and that was without using the shield at all. Granted Fasha was pretty direct and never really had a true pattern of her own, but it was still fun to see the weakness in whatever approach she took before she was even done. Therefore, Fasha was getting low on patience and it was making her technique even sloppier. I couldn't blame her though, I myself didn't like this strategy a whole hell of a lot either, no matter how effective it was.

"The Prince is going to hate your new tactics you know," she said with a frown.

"That's his problem, I happen to think it's a pretty good strategy, depending on the enemy of course. True that it takes a higher road than most Saiyans would take, but it's effective, and better than trying to fry everyone with a big blast as soon as I get the chance. Don't worry, I won't forget how to fight the old fashioned way, maybe I'll just mold all of these styles into a mixed bag, it would be unique enough," I suggested.

"Your technique is already a mixed bag, now you're just adding to it," Fasha replied, launching a few ki blasts to try and catch me in mid-thought. I slapped them away easily with my bare hands, getting the feeling of slight satisfaction from her that I bothered to give it that much effort.

"You want to stop yet, this is getting boring," Fasha grunted, not at all happy with the match.

"Would you prefer I beat you to an inch of your life? How fun would that actually be?" I asked as I noticed a few otherworlders walking by behind her.

"All these muscle heads would probably come after you then for beating up a girl, that might be fun to watch," Fasha grinned.

"I doubt they all have a death wish," I replied calmly.

"Fine, I concede. Its bad enough I can't out power you anymore, but that damn sarcastic wit is really getting on my nerves," Fasha groaned as she powered down.

"Are you sure you want me to be serious?" I asked as we stepped closer together.

"True, that does tend to have destructive results. Let's see what this mob is gathering for," Fasha suggested, pointing to all of the warriors that were gathering around King Kai's house.

As we walked over, we managed to get a chuckle out of seeing Lenz go by, chasing Bubbles around before falling forward. Her face was spared due to the air bags attached to her upper body, but that sure didn't change the amount of pain she was in afterwards.

"Nice fall, I'd give it a seven," I muttered with a slight grin.

"Nah, that's only a four, her face was spared due to a technicality," Fasha laughed allowed. Lenz scowled deeper, likely looking for any kind of ammunition to fire back with.

"Sounds like you're jealous Fasha, I'm sure most males would prefer these over a flat girl like you," Lenz said, posing slightly. _Ouch._ I managed to hold Fasha off in the next few seconds before she turned Lenz into a pile of ashes.

She calmed herself though, and fired back, "I wonder if they also prefer the diseases they can catch from those?"

"Hey, I'm clean!" Lenz shouted angrily.

"I've heard that before! Why don't you go chase banana brain some more and burn off some of that fat, otherwise you'll always be a weakling," Fasha chuckled. Lenz welled up with rage, but shook it off and took off after Bubbles again.

"Just between the two of us, does she actually look better than me? Fasha asked. I gulped slightly, knowing where that kind of line was going.

"Don't lie now, I can take it!" she boasted.

"I'll admit, she does look very appealing, but everyone has their positives and negatives. As beautiful as she is on the outside, she may have the worst attitude on the inside, keep that in mind," I said with a safe answer.

"That didn't really answer my question, why do you have to confuse me all the time?" she whined a bit.

"It's my job, let's see what this is all about," I said, changing subjects as we walked towards the crowd around the house.

All of them were from the North quadrant, or as far as I could tell, and most of their energy signals felt the same, annoyed.

"I didn't know he was calling a meeting, but then again I've only been up here for a week and a half and he didn't say anything this morning," I said, standing towards the back of the crowd.

"Just tell me its not comedy hour again," Fasha sounded almost desperate.

"That bad eh?"

"It's worse!" Videl came running up a few seconds later and she nodded to Fasha with a serious look that melted into dread.

"Ugh, the worst part about this is the fact that it's mandatory. Hopefully he learned a few new jokes this time. Even his best ones barely draw a chuckle sometimes due to overuse," Fasha whined. There was a podium set up and King Kai got up on it, waiting for the crowd to settle down, though there was little going on other than several people looking for an exit. I spotted West Kai, dressed in what appeared to be a clown suit, standing behind him. _This might actually be entertaining if the whole act will center on that buffoon._

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the funniest man in the entire universe, North Kai!" West Kai announced in a voice that truly lacked any sort of enthusiasm.

"Yay," the crowd groaned in unison, clearly this wasn't the first time.

"Ahem, glad you could all make it. Tonight, we remember the poor fighters that were forced under West Kai's instruction, may we dishonor him in every way possible!" King Kai shouted, shaking a fist into the air. He then turned to West Kai, who looked embarrassed enough as it was.

"Knock knock!" he said cheerfully.

"Who's there?" West Kai sighed.

"You're a!"

"You're a…who?" West Kai groaned.

"You're a loser! HA HA HA!" King Kai said, breaking up into laughter.

"Ugh, I see what you mean, only gets worse doesn't it?" I asked.

"Afraid so, but that one was new for once," Videl added.

"Maybe we should go find Lenz and go back to verbal sparring, that actually had some merit to it," Fasha suggested. King Kai settled down a moment later, looking ready for another joke.

"You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna…" King Kai suddenly stopped his joke and stood there, frozen in surprise.

"Don't tell me he lost his train of thought, that might be an improvement. I swear he is practicing his joke delivery every day when he's not training us!" Videl said, amused.

I allowed my eyes to narrow a bit just as a strange blue energy surrounded King Kai, "I don't think this is part of his act!" I was right, and barely a second later, King Kai literally faded away. I scanned the immediate area and didn't detect him as West Kai started to laugh.

"This is the best act I've ever seen him in!" he laughed. Seconds later, he vanished as well, and the crowd's confusion turned to shock and surprise.

"Where'd they go?" Fasha asked. I scanned around the planet for any pure Chi signals, and the only one I found was Dabura's, not even the Grand Kai's energy was present.

"Maybe they got called in suddenly by the Supreme Kai, he does tend to pop in unannounced," Videl suggested.

"I don't think so, I'll try contacting him instead," I said, reaching out with my thoughts.

"_Hey, Kibitoshin! Can you hear me? Yoo hoo, Supreme Kai?"_ There was no answer, and Fasha shook her head slightly as she read my thoughts, or lack there of.

"I think we have a problem," I replied just as the North quadrant fighters turned to me.

**Next time on DBV: Verto and the other dead fighters search for the Kais, only to discover them trapped in an impenetrable shell around King Yemma's palace. With the authority of Other World out of the way, it's up to Verto to find out how to bring it down before all order breaks down. But what will happen when his search takes him down to Hell, and to the real culprit behind all of this? Find out next time on DBV!**


	23. Otherworldly Problems

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Diablo 2 or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 22: Otherworldly Problems**

"I don't understand, where could they have gone? The Kais never leave this planet unattended!" Olibu shouted out from the front of the mob that had moved and regathered around the Grand Kai's palace. I was standing up in front of the pack with Videl, Fasha and Lenz behind me, while the rest of them were bickering a bit back and forth.

"Well, there is a first time for everything, we obviously need to organize a search party and find them!" Pikkon suggested, standing next to him.

"Maybe they are just taking a vacation!" Tapkar suggested.

"I seriously doubt that, they've obviously been taken against their will," Olibu argued back. This started an uproar in the crowd a moment later, and I could almost picture the lines being drawn before the groups began to split up into their respective quadrants.

"Are you suggesting that the great and powerful Kais have been kidnapped?" the blue skinned Dragonetti shouted out.

"I'm saying it's very likely. The planet has been searched and there is no sign of them! How else would you explain this?" Olibu asked.

"I think you North Quadrant scum are behind this. You say North Kai and West Kai vanished at the same time at the same place, yet only fighters of the North were around at the time. Sounds suspicious to me! Maybe North Kai is planning some sort of takeover, he certainly has enough powerful soldiers to do it!" the large and blue Papoi interjected, throwing his weight into the allegations. I allowed my eyes to roll slightly as Fasha groaned.

"I see we're not going to get anywhere like this. Maybe you should quiet them down," she suggested.

"Let's see how stupid they get for the next few moments. Once the brawl breaks out then I'll put a stop to it," I said, glaring daggers at the restless crowd of fighters.

"You all should have known this would happen! North Kai's fighters have been slowly gathering power, Goku was only the first one. Then there's this kid that can mop the floor with even him! It's obvious that he's been planning a take over for a very long time and just lacked the resources. I'd bet that they are planning to destroy the Grand Kai's planet with all of us as well, so they have little resistance!" Papoi continued. Many faces in the crowd of Southerners and Eastern fighters started bobbing their heads up and down in sudden agreement.

"Shut up, you obviously don't know what you're talking about! North Kai's fighters have been saving the blasted galaxy a lot lately! You owe him that much respect at the very least!" Pikkon interjected.

"Funny how they are always saving the day! Makes me wonder if they are the cause of the problems!" Papoi continued, "Are you in league with them too, Pikkon? You're certainly strong enough to be accepted into the ranks of North Kai! How many of us would you have killed with your own two hands, you dirty traitor!" Papoi roared.

"I think that's enough now," I said, powering up slightly.

"Are you accusing me of something, come here and say it to my face!" Pikkon dared.

"ENOUGH!" I shouted, barely making a dent in the crowd noise. Pikkon had a punch drawn back just as Papoi came running at him. Papoi missed badly and Pikkon let him have it in the gut, knocking him through the crowd. Then it was like a trigger to a bomb, the whole place erupted into a riot, with warriors of every quadrant fighting with one another.

"This sure is going well," Videl noted.

"Take a few steps back. I'll put a stop to this," I said, releasing my Psi energy into the air. I thought about giving them a nice little lightning display, but I doubted any of them would pay attention, so I opted instead to flood the entire area in a slow rotating Psi field. Once this was done, I layered up a wall of energy around the whole crowd and stopping just short of the palace, telling the girls to back up a little more. They did, and I stopped all of the air movement around us with my energy, sending the temperature screaming downwards very quickly. The movement of the fighters slowed as they became cold, and a large wall of ice began to encompass the area exactly where my energy field was. The brawl quickly stopped as they were shivering and trying to keep warm as the sweat on their skin glazed over.

"I said that is enough, stop this pointless argument or we're all going to be in a frozen coma in a few minutes!" I shouted, shivering a bit myself. The otherworlders ceased all attacks on each other instantly, and all turned to me in slight fear. I closed my eyes and started moving my energy field again, hearing the ice crack apart and dissolve into the air as I pulled the energy field back towards myself. I sighed slightly, I hadn't used that large of a Stasis field before, but it was effective. Lots of murmurs followed, but the mob ceased its violent activity for the time being.

"That's better. We need to assess the problem here. The Kais are all missing, the next logical question is where did they go and who took them there? I think we can all assume someone else did this, but since I cannot contact the Supreme Kai, I doubt they are still on this world. I can't sense them, and reports are saying that they cannot be found. Okay, now we need to broaden our search a bit more!" I suggested, stopping when I spotted a smaller blue figure pushing his way to the front.

"Excuse me, coming through, official business!" he said. I made out his features a bit better once he got to the front, he looked to be one of King Yemma's ogres, though this one was wearing a suit. "Hey, can I please get through, I need to see the Grand Kai!" he said, shoving his way to the front of the pack.

"The Grand Kai isn't here, we were just discussing that. All of the Kais vanished into thin air not long ago," I said, getting his attention.

"Oh no! This only adds to the problem! There is some sort of magical shell that has sealed King Yemma's palace, we can't get in and no one can get out. We have all kinds of incoming souls piling up with nowhere to go and with no judge! Without King Yemma, we can't send them anywhere. And without King Yemma, our guards in Hell will be hard pressed to keep any of the bad folks from acting up or even escaping! I was hoping I could request some help from the Kais, but if they aren't here…" the ogre suddenly looked frightened and confused. _Seems this is a much bigger problem, and I'd wager whoever did this is in Hell. I can only assume though that King Yemma and the Kais are locked up at the check-in station. Looks like another crisis is up to me to solve._

Fasha grabbed onto my shoulder a moment later as if to hold me in place, "How dare you think about adventure without me at your side!"

"Sorry, for us to solve, this does sound serious though. Okay, listen up everyone, I'm going to go down to King Yemma's place and check it out. I think whomever did this is probably down in Hell, but we can't be sure. I need a few volunteers to help keep order down at Yemma's place, its obviously going to be a little hectic. Step forward please!" Just about everyone stepped forward. _How noble._ "Alright, Pikkon, Olibu, Fasha, Arqua and, Papoi come with me. The rest of you stay here!" I ordered, getting a nod out of most of them as they scattered out a bit more.

"_Why Papoi? He's been nothing but trouble_!" Fasha asked through my thoughts.

"_It'll be easier this way. He was stirring them up, I figure he will see for himself that we are not the cause of this. Besides, to control all the dead folks coming in, we may need someone who looks somewhat intimidating to keep them under wraps._" Fasha gave me a slight mental agreement and we took flight into the skies, following Pikkon's lead, as he likely knew the way better than anyone else.

"So who do you think did this?" Fasha asked as we were flying through the empty space between Grand Kai's planet and Other World. I was somewhat surprised there was any air there at all, there sure wasn't any gravity.

"Tough call. I would say that Janemba demon might be able to do this, he obviously had loads of strange abilities. If it wasn't for the fact that I destroyed him, I'd say it was him. It must be some other evil force that we haven't seen yet, but I do think that whomever did this is in hell. It's the only logical place for anyone that has a grudge against King Yemma and the Kais, or need them out of the way," I said.

"I get the feeling this isn't going to be easy," Olibu said from behind me.

"Ditto, but it looks like its up to us to see it through," I replied. Pikkon suddenly surged downwards towards the vast amounts of yellow clouds, telling us to do the same. I could hear Arqua whimpering a bit about being chosen for a potentially dangerous mission, but there wasn't much he was going to say to argue with me. The reason I had chosen him was simple, his power to change large areas into water, I figured it may come in handy. Not another word was said as we dove towards the surface. Within a few minutes I could see Snake Way and what appeared to be King Yemma's palace. The difference was that the judgment room was indeed surrounded by some sort of hard and foggy shell that I could barely see through. We landed amongst several ogre attendants who were trying to figure out what to do, and holding back a crowd of fresh souls.

"Thank goodness somebody came!" one of them said as we landed.

"Yeah, no problem. I take it King Yemma is trapped inside?" Pikkon asked first as the ogres nodded. Pikkon turned around at once, and then punched the shell very hard. Nothing happened, not even a dent. I did see several figures running towards us from inside the shell, but I could not make out their features, nor did I sense whom they were. Pikkon wasn't done though and launched his Thunder Flash attack a moment later, in hopes of burning off whatever this shell was. Again nothing occurred, and I began to get slightly concerned.

"Kid, I think it's your turn to do the impossible. Can you break that open?" he said, slumping slightly.

"I'll give it a try," I said, releasing Psi energy into the air and sending it towards the shell very quickly in the form of a lightning storm. The energy struck hard and fast, but did nothing more than disturb the air. _Absolutely nothing. Maybe I should try a full power Chi storm, however I don't think that is wise if I do indeed need to fight an enemy._ Just to cover all the bases though, I warned everyone to step back as I charged my new one-handed attack, full of pure Chi.

"Final Shine!" I shouted, shooting the green beam. It roared out and struck the shell instantly before blowing up. The smoke cleared pretty fast, revealing that nothing had happened, except for a few stress marks on the surface of the walkways. I formed my Psi sword an instant later, stabbing towards the shell. The blade split outwards and away from the point of impact, nothing got through.

"Great, this is no ordinary shell. How the hell are we going to break this?" I asked. No one answered for a moment, until I glanced at Arqua, who looked hopeless. "Hey, can you turn that thing into water?" I asked him. He looked up, shocked that I had need for his usefulness and nodded in excitement. He lifted into the air as all of the ogres backed off, his eyes glowing brightly. I sensed his energy suddenly change to a Chi signal before erupting outwards and striking all over the huge shell. Nothing happened to the shell, but several drips of water came sliding down the side of it, making a puddle at my feet. _Well, shit, that went well._

"Sorry," Arqua said in a gargled voice.

"Don't worry about it," I said, taking a step closer to attempt to look through the shell again. I saw a figure pounding on the inside of the shell, and I was able to see his shape on the inside, as well as the purple skin with long white hair. I saw another purple headed figure right behind him, with a similar shaped head.

"Bah, the supreme Kais are in there too, great!" I said, stomping my foot a bit. Kibitoshin stopped pounding his hands, and I could see what looked like a nod on the inside.

"So you guys can hear me?" I asked, keeping it to a simple yes or no question. He nodded, and pointing downwards.

"Something about down, maybe the weakness in the shell is on the lower side?" Olibu suggested.

"I doubt he meant that," I said as the purple Kai shook his head.

"Well what could he mean then?" Olibu asked.

"I think he means the source of the problem is down there, in hell?" I asked this time, getting a very certain yes out of his body motion.

"Is there something or someone we need to defeat down there to get you guys out of there?" I asked, getting another nod, "Looks like we have ourselves a mission. It would help though if we knew what to look for. I don't sense any power signals though," I said, pondering the next logical move.

"Let's get going then. I'm ready for a fight!" Papoi announced, ready to jump over the side.

"Hold on! We need a plan because there is no way to get back up here without someone who can use teleportation! I can't call Goku or Gohan because they are in space and I'm not even sure my telepathy would work between dimensions! And I get the feeling that the Kais can't communicate with them either if they can hear us but we can't hear them! With Kibito Kai locked up in there, we will be trapped in hell if we go that route!" I said.

"Yeah, but assuming we beat whoever did this, then the shell will be released, won't it?" Fasha asked. I glanced at Kibitoshin, who only shrugged his shoulders.

"It may not. It looks like we may have to either send someone down there alone, or all go as a team. I suggest we all go together! There are a few ways to get back up here without needed someone skilled in teleporting. So once we defeat whoever did this, we should be fine," Olibu suggested.

"I agree," Pikkon said. I still felt unsure about it, if no one knew instant transmission, it was going to be difficult to get back assuming we defeated whomever had done this. Even if there were a few ways to get back through the dimensional barrier, I still didn't want to chance it.

"As do I!" Papoi announced. Arqua didn't answer, and most likely wasn't comfortable with any plan we came up with, being the weakling of the group likely had that effect.

"Alright, I guess we all go down there, ready?" I asked.

"Yes!" everyone else said.

"Hold on!" a voice from above shouted. We looked up to see Dabura descending upon us quickly. He obviously wanted in on some of the fun.

"Me and the boy will go to Hell and deal with whatever has done this. I have sensed a terrible disturbance and I feel it may be beyond any of you if it grows strong enough. I'm not sure what it is, but it has tremendous power, I have not sensed anything from this area of Hell in a long time. Nothing like this anyway," Dabura reasoned.

"You can sense whatever did this?" I asked, scanning around for anything strange myself.

"It isn't that hard for me. A demon can sense other demons easily," he said.

"So it's some sort of demon then? Because I am not picking up a damn thing from here!" I asked.

"Of that I am very sure. We must go and unravel this mystery. With the check in station locked up, things will become very hectic up here! Pikkon, return to the Grand Kai's planet and retrieve a few more warriors to help keep the peace while we are gone, but get back here as soon as possible. If we need any assistance, the boy can contact her telepathically and you can home in on our position. Let's get going boy!" Dabura ordered. I glanced back at Fasha, who looked a little bummed out.

"Hey don't worry, I'll deal with whatever did this!" I said reassuringly as Dabura jumped through the clouds.

"Yeah I'm sure, you're gonna have all the fun while I'm on guard duty!" she said with a glare. I chuckled and followed Dabura, crossing the threshold into Hell quickly.

--

Nothing looked or felt strange as we entered Hell, but I did notice a large cluster of small ki levels below us, very small. I spotted multiple bodies sprawled out on the ground, and signs of a fight. They all felt like they were clinging on to life, like they had all been beaten senseless as not one of them were even moving.

"I advise caution, this enemy is likely very powerful," Dabura suggested as we landed on the ground of hell.

"I figured that, but I'm ready for anything. The only question is who did this?" I asked as I glanced around at all of the bodies.

"I do not know, but anyone who can leave the dead in a coma is nothing to be trifled with. Perhaps the Kais or King Yemma may know, once we can release them that is," Dabura said, standing over what appeared to be an old Frieza minion. I spotted the short and red Jeice not far away and scanned his energy as best as I could since he was the strongest one that I saw so far. I sensed that the ki level was very low, but there was a reason for it. The Psi energy that every spirit generated, no matter how low, was pretty much gone. There were trace amounts left, along with a large stab wound in the side like whoever did this was trying to suck his guts out, it was as if whoever did this only drained Psi energy. His neck was also turned harshly to the side with his mouth gaping open, like it was broken.

"There is a possibility that Friezell..."Dabura began as I cut him off.

"No, even he wouldn't do this, and I doubt he could. These stab wounds are very specific, and all of the Psi energy within them is gone. He doesn't have a clue on what Psi energy is, nor could he use it to his advantage. And if I remember correctly, Cell absorbed all of the bio matter from living things with his tail, all of it. Friezell did the same against Buu, so there's no change there. There is still a tiny amount of ki left within them and they're bodies are somewhat intact. If they weren't already dead, I'd wonder how they were holding on," I explained, glancing around at the other motionless corpses. Dabura's energy suddenly felt slightly annoyed once I was finished speaking, and I glanced back at him to get a full view of his scowl.

"As I was going to say before you interrupted me, there is a possibility that Friezell uncovered something down here while testing his powers. As I said, there is a strong demonic presence in the area. I also doubt that he did this, obviously this mystery demon is behind it. Next time try to pay attention to what I say before jumping to conclusions. That could very well cost you a fight and possibly your life someday!" Dabura suggested.

"Whatever," I frowned back.

The next few minutes were quiet while we searched the area. I still didn't sense any major presence yet, just a huge amount of tiny energy signals that represented this crowd of comatose villains. And other than Dabura, I still didn't sense anything else in the area that stood out.

"I can't say I've ever seen anything like this before, not even from the Zerg. It's like their souls have been taken, well just spirits in this case, whichever," I said, scanning around. I suddenly picked up a very small energy behind us, slightly higher than everything else. It took me a second to recognize it, but the scowl that appeared on my face didn't have anything on Dabura's own look of anger.

"Hahahahaha! We meet again Dabura! This time you will pay for your betrayal!" the tiny wizard cackled.

"Babidi, you're looking shorter than usual," Dabura said in a relaxed tone.

"You brought that rotten monkey kid with you too! Ha! It doesn't matter, my newest minion will destroy you both. He may not be as powerful as Majin Buu - yet - but he will suffice!" he said in a cocky tone.

"That sounds familiar, you little imp. I've already wiped out Buu's most powerful form and now I'm even stronger! Bring on your next crony Babidi, I'll tear him apart too!" I said now, oozing with confidence.

"I'd have to agree with the boy given the current situation! I suggest you turn tail and run behind your pet like usual," Dabura said, a slight smirk returning to his face.

"I will teach you two respect! Kaa, get out here!" Babidi roared. Dabura's smirk melted off once he heard the name, but my expression remained the same for a moment.

"No, don't tell me you released THAT demon!" Dabura asked in a shaky voice.

"Who the hell is Kaa?" I asked. Dabura didn't answer, but I soon picked up a powerful energy surge behind a nearby hill, and it was only getting closer. I scanned it over and over before it appeared, getting a very strange signal back. It possessed a large amount of ki and a larger amount of Psi. It was the Psi signal that was strange, but it soon fit together, because it felt like it didn't belong to whatever this thing was, it wasn't its own. A large creature emerged and slowly walked towards us, its head looking like a sewn together skull with eyes. It's body looked to be in horrible shape, except for the large claw on its left arm that looked to be the source of some of the stab wounds. It appeared to be wrapped in bandages, and a few of the limbs looked to be lacking in body mass.

"Now go do something nasty to them!" Babidi screeched and pointed. This creature, Kaa, stopped where he was and his energy surged. First his ki rose to its what felt to be its maximum, which really wasn't anything worth mentioning. But its Psi energy rose and then suddenly drained, and I felt it adding to his ki, building it up higher and higher. I swore I heard screams and other frightened voices in the air coming from a thin blue aura. All his Psi energy drained to nothing but residue, and his ki was much higher than it was before. What disturbed me though was the fact that I didn't sense a spirit within this creature, it was like it didn't possess one of its own and had instead taken the spirits of others, or at least their energy. _Oh man, how horrible! He ate their spirits!_ Kaa wasn't done when he powered up, I felt his presence surge outward. It passed throughout the plains of hell and beyond and I sensed something even worse start to stir around us. I glanced down at Jeice as his body began to convulse just a bit, but then settled down as his lifeless eyes opened. He sat up and a feral growl escaped his throat. Others corpses around also began to stir and sit up, and most of them looked at us like a rabid dog.

"What the hell?" I dared to ask.

"It's one of that creature's powers. Its victims can be raised into mindless zombies. Since their Psi energy is gone, they're cognitive minds are non-functional, and I doubt their previous power will even be a factor as that creature can absorb a portion of their strength as well," Dabura said, ready for a massive fight. Jeice's hungry eye locked on and he dove for my leg with drooling teeth like a rabid dog that was ready for a meal. I kicked Jeice off, watching him fly into a crowd of Zombies that slowly advanced towards us, all of them moaning and groaning in hunger.

"Hahahahaha! It's finally time for your end, you little rat!" Babidi boasted.

"You made a big mistake in messing with things this time Babidi," I said with a grin, powering up in the process.

**A/n: All right, you all likely recognize this part from the epilogue of Saga 5, slightly modified of course. The questions you likely have pertain to what kind of creature Kaa is, and what is the extent of this demon's abilities. The answers are coming, but not till next time. Things are gonna get hairy, I guarantee it!**

**Next time on DBV: Verto tries his hand at Babidi's new monster. But what is it about this creature that has Dabura so scared? Unfortunately for Verto, he's going to find out the hard way as Kaa becomes a brick wall to the Saiyan's deepest powers! Kaa's story is revealed and so are his powers, next time on DBV!**

**And I do not own any rights to Diablo 2.  
**


	24. Secret of Kaa's Power

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Diablo 2 or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 23: The Secret of Kaa's Power**

Once powered up, I gauged the creature's power against mine a little better. It was a bit lower than my maximum in normal form, making me wonder just what the big concern from Dabura was. His words were filled with fear at first, and he could easily plow over this monster by himself. It got me thinking as to why this creature was a huge problem, other than the obvious. I released a quick wave of energy to knock back the zombie crowd before asking him.

"So is there something special we have to do to kill this thing, you look pretty concerned?" I asked.

"I am not sure what destroys that creature actually, it's never been done!" he said with a trembling voice.

"Well, always a good time to experiment! I'll let you have first crack at him!" I suggested as the creature, Kaa, stepped forward.

"No, we should retreat for now! Until we know precisely what kills it, we should not proceed!" he said.

"Are you kidding me? This thing is weaker than both of us! You're not even going to take a pop shot at him? He is obviously a threat to other world as he is, but he's nothing I haven't faced. What do you know about this creature that I don't?" I asked sternly as the zombie crowd starting getting up again.

"His full title is Ancient Kaa the Soulless. The title fits since this creature possesses no soul, well not anymore. He is the demon I sensed down here, or at least he was. He was around about the same time Majin Buu was in this dimension, though I do not know what he originally was. He was taken by Babidi's father a long time ago and was twisted into this emotionless shell you see now. I'm not exactly certain about his entire history, but he was another one of Bibidi's pets before Buu. He wasn't much use in his current form for obvious reasons and Bibidi cast him aside once he had created Buu. When Bibidi was destroyed, the Kais took pity on him and gave him a job here in Hell to help King Yemma, as there was a large amount of evil souls here that needed cleansed at the time. Every once in awhile, an incredibly evil soul would come to hell, and it would be decided by the Kais or Yemma, that this soul did not deserve an afterlife nor a chance at reincarnation. This creature is then sent in and that person's soul would be taken and eaten by the creature, leaving a mindless corpse that would usually be destroyed soon after. Over time, the creature began to take a liking to his duties, and began to gain power by eating and torturing souls, his former self began to take shape. King Yemma and the Kais did not take any chances and sealed the demon away in the lower bowels of Hell. They feared that if he ever took his original form again, that it would plow through the entire afterlife, wiping out everything in its path. You see, Bibidi took his soul, and used his magic to twist the demon into what you see now, using the same kind of magic that he used to create Buu. It is very difficult to hurt this monster as it is, I cannot fathom what his original form must have been. The creature has been practically immortal to everyone that has ever crossed its path. That is the main reason Bibidi kept him for so long, a weaker warrior than Buu, but isn't so easily destroyed! Obviously, Babidi has traveled quite a bit to find this thing and revive it," Dabura explained.

"Why wouldn't they just kill it? I understand if it was too powerful to control and fight, but surely they could find someone strong enough to kill it!" I said, giving off a glare that dared the crowd of zombies to come towards me.

"I'm not sure it can be killed actually. According to my information, they were not strong enough, and their dead warriors fought teeth and bone against him and lost. Sealing Kaa away was the only solution they could come up with before he became too powerful. While there isn't much Psi to feed off of from most of the citizens of Hell, every little bit makes him stronger, and he can absorb a moderate amount of ki energy from his victims with that claw," Dabura finished, kicking a zombie away as the rest suddenly backed off. _Well that's just groovy, looks like I'll be staying the hell away from him. _

"Hahahaha! Very astute Dabura, I'm surprised you know so much about this creature! Especially considering you are not even from this dimension!" Babidi cackled as the monster stepped towards us.

"I'm surprised you can keep control of that creature, though I doubt this thing is much smarter than Buu!" Dabura fired back.

"Ha! If you think I'm going to reveal that, try again! And I dare you to take on my marvelous monster, you won't even scratch him!" Babidi dared.

"I've heard enough, I'll give it a shot if we're done blowing smoke at each other!" I declared, turning towards Kaa a little more as he stalked forward. _His body seems pretty slow and weak, but then again, looks can be deceiving. I'll just let him have a big one now, he should be a decent test for my new attack._ I rose into the air and charged up the Spirit Beam Cannon, putting more than the required energy into my two fingers just in case I had underestimated this Kaa. The creature stopped his advance, watching intently with part of his jaw hanging down, almost as if he were challenging me to hit him.

"No, don't!" Dabura called up from the ground.

"Relax, I got this freak, Spirit Beam Cannon!" I shouted, firing my chain like beam straight at him. _That thing is toast!_ Kaa lifted his arm to try to block it, but was to slow and the twin beam hit him in the chest area. The explosion I expected didn't come, instead a smaller golden one blew Kaa back. _What the, where's the big explosion?_ Kaa was blown back a little bit as I sensed a Psi energy signal from him again, with no one around to absorb from. _Oh great, he can directly absorb my Psi blasts right into his body!_

"Do you understand now?" Dabura growled a bit as I came down.

"I take it we can't hit him with any kind of Psi attack otherwise he'll just absorb it, correct?" I asked.

"Yes, only attacks with mortal life energy will be effective, rendering all of your Psi and energy fusion techniques ineffective," he explained.

"What about full power Chi attacks, surely that thing can't handle my Super Galic Gun?" I suggested. Dabura didn't answer right away, but a dim energy surrounded him suddenly and he vanished into thin air.

"Hahahaha, that's enough out of you Dabura, I hope you enjoy the company of the Kais," Babidi cackled.

"Was that really necessary you dried up fool? You said yourself that we didn't stand a chance. Why'd you send him away, afraid he was going to say something to undermine your plans?" I sneered slightly.

"On the contrary, I was tired of his presence, now Kaa, destroy that kid!" Babidi pointed and ordered. The zombie crowd got closer again on cue and I got back into the air, seeing no sign of energy blasts coming from the creature. _Hmmm, with all these zombies running around, I might get distracted and lured into a critical mistake. I better call for some crowd control for this one. _

"_Hey Fasha, looks like were going to need you guys after all, come on down and give me a hand!"_ I called out telepathically. There were instantly 5 strong ki signals dropping down from the skies, all of them stopping once they got close to me.

"Where's Dabura?" Olibu asked first.

"I think Babidi locked him in with the Kais, he's the little imp dude there, and he's responsible for all the trouble. I'll sum things up, that big, thing, the wizard's latest minion that tore up Hell and made everyone else into a zombie. I need you guys to keep them off of me while I deal with the creature. Maybe round them up and dump them in a holding cell around here or something, they are pretty weak now without their power," I suggested.

"Got it, let's move out!" Pikkon shouted, prompting the group to dive down and start beating up zombies. Fasha didn't move however and slowly hovered next to me.

"I take it that thing isn't so easy to destroy?" she asked.

"Not as easy as I'd like, stay up here, I'm gonna tear that thing apart the old fashioned way," I said, powering up both energies and forcing them together.

-

Babidi's eyes lit up when I turned Super Mystic, and his grin vanished. I noticed he was looking around the skies above me, probably looking for a fake moon just like the last time I fought him. Kaa had no real reaction at all and just stood there, watching me. I allowed myself to smirk slightly, the creature's weak body was going to play to my advantage no matter what tactic I wanted to employ. I dropped down to the ground and rushed towards the tall creature. Kaa arched back a bit and spit some sort of green mist into the air right before I arrived, but I phased out and swung around to smash him down from behind with a single fist to the back of the creature's head. He went down quick, but slowly got back up. I sped in again and kicked his legs out from underneath, sending the monster tumbling and likely breaking one leg in the process as it bent the wrong way. _What a weak creature._

Kaa seemed to dull the pain out, getting back up a moment later. I glanced at Babidi briefly, seeing no real reaction on the wizard's face, he seemed content with whatever was going to transpire. _I'll give you something to panic about here in just a second wizard!_ I dashed towards Kaa, who swung his large claw at me. I ducked underneath and hit a strong uppercut that probably should have sent his head flying off. Instead he went sprawling through the air as I rose above and double arm smashed him back into the ground. As the creature lay embedded in the purple ground of Hell, I charged up what would certainly be his end. As my green blast was charging, I again glanced towards Babidi, but he still wore a tight smirk, and it concerned me a bit. Against Buu he seemed to panic every time I blew part of him up, but I was winning easily here and he barely flinched at any of it. _He still isn't worried? Well let's see what he thinks of this!_

"Super Galic Gun!" I shouted, firing the green beam straight down. I sensed no real effort to escape the blast from below, or the monster was too out of it to try. The explosion a moment later confirmed that the blast hit correctly as the dust and light covered the lands. When the light cleared, the dust was still covering the air in a thick blanket, and I didn't sense much from wherever Kaa was now. I glanced at Babidi with a thick smirk, and he almost returned the glance.

"Hahahaha! You little fool, my precious monster cannot be destroyed that easily. I've known about your new power for a good while now, and it is impressive. However, you do not have what it takes to defeat Kaa!" he boasted.

"Funny, I don't see your monster anywhere. Unless his atoms are so scattered that he's invisible!" I fired back, noting the scowl on his face.

"Oh, you will see brat! You will see!" he threatened. He seemed pretty intent on his monster surviving the blast, so I searched the rubble as well as the dust cleared, keeping a careful eye on the entire area. Kaa still hadn't done much to attack me, nothing I couldn't dodge anyway, so I wasn't too worried yet even if he did live. At the current rate I could beat the crap out of him all day long. I spotted movement a moment later in the center of the new crater, spotting the monster himself a moment later, looking quite roughed up. I scanned his energy, noting that it had gone up quite a bit suddenly. _What the? His body should be in shambles, how could he be stronger?_ I growled slightly, this thing wasn't going down like it should have.

_As fun as it is to beat this thing into the ground, I don't have time for games with a wizard that constantly pulls a magic trick out of his ass._ I spread my Chi energy out, sending a large amount of it into the air and concentrating it into a large cloud to surround Kaa, rotating it quickly. He glanced up, not showing much in the way of emotion, but he did hiss a bit at the electricity forming around him. Just as he started making a slight movement in the general direction of away, I lifted my hands and forced all the energy towards him from every direction. The Chi powered lightning storm struck Kaa in an instant and sent him to his knees. He arched back in pain and he uttered a freakish screech that didn't sound like anything I had ever heard before as I pierced every bit of him with the green lightning. His wrappings started to burn, and his mummy like head dressing began to split apart. I sensed his energy surge slightly in painful panic, and redoubled my efforts to disable him. I saw his weak muscles start to tear apart, and saw some sort of darker green skin underneath.

_Uh oh, I might have triggered some sort of transformation!_ I quickly ceased my attack and pulled the rest of my Chi back, sensing Kaa's power level start to rise again. _How the hell can he be stronger? I hit him with the damn Chi storm! He should be skewered and trying to pull himself together…unless he can absorb Chi energy as well. Aw crap, Dabura said that only mortal energy was effective against him, which means ki only. Shit, no wonder he's stronger now, I've been feeding his ass! Every hit and every blast is making him stronger._ I quickly dropped out of Super Mystic form and dropped my Psi level slightly, getting a chuckle out of Babidi.

"I told you it was useless!" he called out.

"Shut it raisin breath!" I shouted back. Below, Kaa's power was still rising quite a bit, and his wracked body was expanding a bit. I saw deep muscles suddenly expand and then burst outwards just as a majority of the wrappings came off. He reached up with his hand and ripping the rest off of his claw arm, revealing more green skin underneath. It was almost like this thing was shedding its skin much like a snake does. I sensed slight fear run through me, but since I felt composed it had to be from Fasha, who was still hovering above.

"_What is that thing love?"_ she asked quietly.

"_I really don't know, but it seems that nothing I do can hurt it since he can absorb my Psi energy! I think were about to get a glimpse of his true form though!"_ I thought back, keeping an eye on Kaa.

A deep red aura emerged and the skinless skull then exploded, revealing another head beneath. This one was also dark green in color, much like the skin. Long stringy, black hair covered his head, draping down the back and sides. He also sported few short horns similar to Dabura's own. I saw a sharp pointed nose and two large, all black eyes above a mouth full of fangs. A large M then glowed red for a moment from his forehead before turning black again, though I wasn't very surprised to see it. Kaa stripped the rest of his wrappings off quickly with either his hands, or by way of his energy burning them off. He wore a dark red tunic that covered a very buff body, with a darker brown cloth covering the lower part. _Now that was a change and a half! The only thing missing though is another hand instead of that creepy ass claw._

As if he heard me, I saw the claw retract slightly into his arm, revealing a tight fist behind it. I glanced at the other arm, seeing another claw start to emerge and grow out until it came to a rest just behind the wrist. Kaa was now a huge monster that almost resembled Broly in body size. I heard his breath cease and relax for a moment, before his teeth clenched hard together and his aura erupted again. This time his power rose to just above my maximum ki level and stayed there, emitting an incredibly evil signal. _Man, what a beast. I wonder though, with the wrappings off, is he more vulnerable?_ Judging by the deep smirk that Babidi was wearing, I guessed no. I pulled up a tiny amount of Psi energy and lit up the area with a bright white ball. _Well, this may sacrifice some energy and make him a bit stronger, but I need to know if it'll work!_

"Feedback!" I shouted, throwing it at Kaa. He made no effort to dodge or deflect, and it pierced his body easily. My satisfaction turned to horror when it not only didn't make him howl in pain, but also didn't appear to do anything at all except slightly increase his power. _Son of a bitch!_ I sensed his energy stir and he suddenly came at me. I barely saw it coming and dodged aside. He glanced back and his scowl deepened as he put on the brakes and turned back around. Both claws then quickly extended outwards as he dropped into a stance with his arms spread. _Oh great, now he can move and likely fight as well as I can. This is not gonna be pretty. And if I can't use my Psi or Chi on him...God Damnit!_

**Next time on DBV: Verto struggles against Kaa's new form while battling at half power. Can the young Saiyan form a suitable strategy to combat the demon, or has Babidi finally played his cards right to take down Verto?**


	25. Kaa, the Unstoppable?

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to Diablo 2 or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 24: Kaa, the Unstoppable?**

"**Hahahahahaha**, now you're really going to get it you annoying pest! Those wrappings were also restraints! Now that you've taken them off, he is free to use his full potential!" Babidi cackled some more.

"Yeah? We'll see about that!" I declared, dropping into a slight stance. Kaa glided towards me slowly, hovering barely a foot off the ground. My silver aura roared to life as I prepared myself for the onslaught. As if an alarm suddenly went off, he charged, swinging one of his big claws directly at my head. I ducked quickly, and then rolled aside as his other hand came down and struck the dirt. I phased out and came in with a flying kick, hitting directly in the shoulder blade area, stunning the huge demon for a moment. He recovered quickly this time and jumped with a spinning roundhouse kick. I flipped backwards as he swung right through, putting a little too much effort into his attack. I didn't even hesitate and launched at him, unleashing a furious batch of punches to his upper back just as he was turning around. My effort stunned him again, but did very little actual damage, and he seemed to just soak it up. I backed off and rescanned his energy, not noticing a change this time. _Great, one of those kinds of fighters where physical attacks don't do much either, Broly-wannabe! Of course, it doesn't really help when he's already a little stronger than me in my current form. Well, it's beam time. I prefer that anyway._ I glided away and then slightly upwards, making sure that I was far enough away before he noticed my position so I would have plenty of time to charge up my attack. Kaa made no real motion my direction, and just stood there, almost screaming, 'I'm wide open!' for me. _Okay big guy, you asked for it!_ I dropped back slightly, releasing a ton of ki energy into my palms and lighting up the land with golden light.

"Super Galic Gun!" I shouted, keeping every ounce of Psi in me from spilling forth as I fired the beam. Kaa didn't move again and was swallowed in golden light within seconds. "Take that!" I yelled at him as the beam detonated in his face. The explosion kicked up plenty of dust and wind, blowing it around nicely enough to knock Babidi down. I scanned Kaa's energy, barely sensing a drop from where it was once my blast dissipated. _Man, what do you have to do to beat this guy? He's obviously durable, but come on! At least he isn't any stronger._ The smoke cleared out and I expected to see the demon standing there, but instead only air, and I suddenly lost his signal.

"What the, hey where'd he go?" I asked no one in particular. I glanced at Babidi, who was still dusting himself off, but not using his magic either.

"Damnit," I muttered, glancing around for Kaa.

"_Look out!"_ I heard Fasha say through my thoughts. I glanced behind to see a trail of dirt burrowing up from the ground and stepped backwards just as Kaa flew out. I saw one of his claws coming and dove aside. This ended up being a huge mistake as Kaa jumped towards me, swiping at me in midair and clipping part of my side.

"Argh!" I cried out, holding what had to be a couple of shattered bones at the bottom of my right ribcage. Blood trickled out and I winced in pain as one of my fingers explored a noticeable gap that had knifed into my midsection. _Ugh, damnit, now he's really going to get it!_ I stood up angry, and Psi lightning rushed through my aura without my command. I quickly realized this potential mistake and calmed down, burying the energy once more. Kaa grinned slightly, his first real facial expression that didn't involve a few dozen clenched teeth. I winced in pain again along with my heartbeat, and felt Kaa's energy rush towards me suddenly, one claw outstretched. I quickly spotted it and caught it with both hands, pushing back as the tip touched my uniform. A struggle of strength quickly began, and I had to act fast as I wasn't going to win it.I eyed the actual claw, noting that for the most part it was not protected by his demon skin. _I've got to get rid of those things for starters, but how if he can just absorb my energy? I'm pretty sure he isn't going to allow me to break them off myself, and I'm not strong enough to rip them out. It's a shot in the dark, but if I concentrate hard enough, I'm sure my sword can cut through his body, or at least this claw since it's basically all bone! Now to get away from him for a moment._

I locked eyes with him, and returned the grin he had plastered on his face for the moment. I then used his forward momentum to jump upwards suddenly and flip back around as he drove off balance. I held out my hand and summoned my sword, concentrating the energy into a very thin blade and seeing it brighten as a result. Swinging downwards with both hands, I sliced towards his head. The blade went through cleanly before I pulled it out, not even leaving a cut mark. It did however stop Kaa from moving, and barely left any energy behind. While he was distracted, I took the chance and attempted to slice his forearm in half. The blade went clean through again, but left a definite impact mark on the huge claw. He glanced down as I backed off, eyeing his arm. A clean-cut mark slowly appearing all around his claw, just before it completely severed and fell to the ground.

"One down, one to go!" I said, holding my sword at a ready position. Kaa took a second to react, but when he did I thought that perhaps I had triggered another transformation. I backed off as he moaned and groaned in anger, his power spilling outwards and leaving crack marks in the ground. _If only my feedback technique could work on him, it would be so perfect right now._ His red aura filled the immediate area, and I felt compelled to flee in fear, but managed to stand my ground despite the incredibly evil power that was being generated. He stopped his rage filled release of energy and came charging at me again, the one claw sticking out. He came in a little slower than I expected, perhaps due to a lack of focus. I dodged aside for the moment and watched him go sailing past before giving chase, intent on removing that other claw. He flew through the air a few feet above ground as I chased him down, sword drawn back and ready. He looked back and clenched his right fist, the claw hand. _What is he up to?_ I saw the claw then start to recede back into his forearm. _Shit, I've got to cut that thing off now before he can protect it, he's obviously figured out my plan._ I increased speed and closed in quickly as the claw was almost retracted. Just as I was about to swing and remove at least part of it, his fist opened up and the claw was completely retracted. Barely a half second later, his hand erupted with energy that came shooting towards me faster than I could react. My body was then hit by a burning golden blast, one that sent me to the ground a good distance away.

_Son of a bitch, I should have known he could fire off energy blasts, talk about falling for a trap._ I had taken quite a spill and a hit to my back. My weighted shirt and the top of my uniform had been burned off, and my entire upper body felt cooked and tattered. I sat up and caught my breath, noticing quite an array of cuts that had been opened up over my chest and sides, not to mention the bigger one that was turning the right side of my belt red. I spotted Kaa standing a short distance away, observing my attempt at recovery while I heard Babidi laughing.

"Come on! I'm not afraid of you!" I said with a defiant glare. Kaa chuckled a bit and stalked forward slowly. _Man, I need to do something, but this guy is just too much! He took my ki powered Super Galic Gun at full power and it didn't do anything! Dabura wasn't kidding about not knowing how to destroy this thing. I need more power. Other than asking for someone else to step in, I only have one real option left, power up to Super Saiyan 2! Getting him to blast me, that's another challenge, especially if Babidi's been keeping enough tabs on me. I don't think he's going to give me and Fasha the time we need. I suppose I could try the taunting tactic, let's just see how smart he is._

"Come on ugly, hit me with your best shot! I dare you!" I shouted out. Kaa stopped and grinned, charging up a blast in his right hand and getting ready to fire. I sensed a ton of energy being poured into the ki ball, more than enough to give me a boost. I summoned my Psi sword, ready to absorb it and gain the upper hand on this demon. I allowed myself to smirk slightly, _That's right dumbshit, you'll have to charge a big time blast to beat me anyway! _Just as he finished charging, I heard Babidi's voice in the distance.

"Don't fire that blast, the kid can absorb energy with his sword!" _Argh, just once I'd like to fight one of his minions without his blasted interference_, I thought with a groan as Kaa quit charging his blast. Just as his blast was gone, he flew towards me quickly with a sick looking grin on his face. I dropped into stance and dodged his first three punches before his speed became too much and I was hit several times before eating dirt a few seconds later. I struggled to get up for a moment and I sensed Kaa directly behind me, hearing his one remaining claw unsheathing. _Oh crap_, I thought, preparing for what was going to be painful. I heard the impact of a strong blow, but felt nothing before seeing Kaa go flying over me. I glanced behind to see Fasha standing there, powered up to Super level 2, a fist outstretched.

"It looked like you could use my help - for once," she said with a slight grin.

"Yeah, well he's a tough one, I think this is going to take a group effort this time!" I suggested just as I sensed Pikkon and the others flying towards us.

"I hope you brought plenty of allies today you little rat! Kaa is hungry for souls and I would hate to see him have to starve!" Babidi chuckled from a nearby hill. Fasha growled slightly and sent a small blast at the wizard, who barely managed to dodge out of the way.

"Hey kid, you alright?" Olibu asked just as he landed. I got up a little gingerly, more than a little sore.

"I've been better. Stay away from that thing's claw!" I suggested as Papoi, Pikkon and Arqua all landed nearby.

"I'll cut that creature down like a tree!" Papoi boasted, stalking forward. Size wise, he was a little bigger than Kaa, power wise, not even close.

"No, he's stronger than all of you by yourselves! We need to attack in a group!" I shouted out, but the big oaf wasn't paying attention. He stomped towards Kaa until he was only a few feet away. Papoi balled up his fists and summoned his minor amount of power into them, preparing for the move he had used against me.

"Ground Shaker!" His attack tore through the ground and made a beeline for Kaa, who didn't budge an inch. The beam came roaring out of the ground and sent Kaa into the air, seemingly stunned. Papoi let out a mighty battle cry as he flew towards Kaa's floating form, ready to break him in half. Just as Papoi was about to hit him, Kaa suddenly flipped up, a wide grin on his face. He rushed at his attacker and punched him solidly in the midsection, until I saw that huge claw go right through Papoi and out the other side. He hoisted Papoi up in a chokehold with his free hand and retracted his claw just a bit, and I sensed Papoi's energy being sucked out quickly.

"Oh man, there goes another one! Listen guys, stay away from that claw! He can absorb your spirit and energy with it - and then you'll be one of those zombies he created!" I ordered as everyone went through their gasping phase while Babidi started cackling some more.

"Hahahahaha, even with a group of fighters you won't stop my monster!" he boasted again. Kaa tossed Papoi aside, who plunged to the ground and made no movement once he hit, his Psi energy was for the most part gone, as was whatever ki energy he had. _We need to cut off that other claw. Now that Arqua is here, maybe I can try my Stasis field to hold him in place. _

"I will take him!" Pikkon declared.

"Damnit. We have to do it together. Fighting him one at a time is a death wish, well kind of. Pikkon, Olibu, I want you to get him to the ground and try to keep him there. Arqua, once he's on the ground, turn it into a lake. Once Kaa is stuck underwater, get out, got that?" I suggested, making sure I had everyone thinking on the same page.

"What good will that do? We'd be just as vulnerable under water and Arqua isn't strong or fast enough to take him even in his best environment! Why would you want to try that?" Pikkon asked.

"Because I intend to freeze him in there and slice off that other claw with my sword. I can't hurt him with my power, something in his demon skin absorbs my Psi energy just by touch, but those claws are vulnerable! He isn't going to give me another chance to remove the other one! Do you get it now?" I asked.

"Yeah, I understand, we need to remove his soul absorbing capabilities so he can't get any stronger! Okay, let's go Olibu!" Pikkon shouted, powering up and taking off for Kaa's flying form.

"What do you want me to do?" Fasha asked as Arqua got himself into position above us.

"Not sure. Maybe give me a nice massage once this is over," I joked slightly. Judging by the clearing of the throat sounds I heard, it wasn't a very good one.

"I can fight you know. I'm as strong as that thing is! Let me take him!" Fasha urged.

"I don't doubt your ability. But I want you to hold back until we can get a chance to blast him. He'll just dodge a big one right now, and I don't want to chance him getting away while we waste our energy. Dabura wasn't even sure we could destroy this thing, so I would rather not gamble on it too much," I explained.

"Quit bullshitting me you brat, you're just being overprotective again! I'm the adult, that's my job!" she yelled in my ear, making me flinch a bit.

"Okay, it's a bit of that too," I admitted, seeing Pikkon and Olibu attack a moment later. Kaa fended them off decently, but wasn't able to continue once Pikkon's Kaioken aura flickered to life. He sent Kaa into the ground with a double arm smash and I signaled Arqua to get ready. I released my Psi energy into my aura once again and hovered a bit closer so I could get a better sense of things as Kaa was starting to come to.

"Now Arqua!" I shouted. A pool of water suddenly took shape around Kaa, and he attempted to swim out of it, unsuccessfully. I concentrated and surrounded the water with my energy, holding it in place and freezing it and Kaa a few seconds later.

"Great job kid!" Olibu shouted out. I conjured up my sword again, making it as sharp and concentrated as possible as I moved in for the kill, seeing Kaa's claw poking out of the ice slightly. As I got close, I sensed a trace of his Psi signal returning. _Shit, he's already absorbing the energy that was used to transform both the ground into water and the Psi that turned it to ice. If only that attack was a little faster. I've got to hurry!_ I sped in a little faster, ready to slice off his arm when his claw suddenly retracted.

"Damnit!" I shouted, flying back into the air and putting my sword away.

"What went wrong kid?" Pikkon asked as he flew up to me.

"He knew it was coming! Let's take this opportunity to blast him while he's stuck in there! Fasha, Olibu, come up here!" I shouted while powering up my remaining ki. They joined us a moment later and we charged up the equivalent of a quadruple Kamehameha, only it was golden. Just as I sensed the Stasis Ice starting to crack apart, I signaled the blast, "Fire!" Our beam roared out and smashed through the ice pool, hitting dead on and leaving quite a nuclear cloud behind for the next few moments. I felt myself waning a bit and lowered to the ground, my supply of ki energy was getting low. Everyone else stayed in the air, watching for any sign of our enemy. I didn't sense anything for a minute or two, but when the dust cleared and panic suddenly filtered through Fasha's mind and went directly to the back of mine, I had a pretty good clue. _Great, why am I not surprised? Now what the hell are we going to do?_

"Looks like we'll have to wear him down some more," Pikkon said, dropping his weighted clothing.

"I'm not sure, if that blast didn't do it, I'm not sure anything else we do will take him down," I said.

"Don't worry, between the girl and I, this monster won't know what hit him!" Pikkon boasted, powering up his Kaioken once again. Fasha's ascended aura flickered to life a moment later as she prepared to take off, kicking up a lot of dust in the process. Kaa stood motionless, the ever present scowl on his face. His body looked a little blemished now, our beam had done something to him, just not a whole hell of a lot.

"_I guess I get to save the day this time, wish me luck,"_ Fasha thought towards me.

"_You'll probably need it!_" I replied. With a loud pair of battle cries, Pikkon and Fasha tore through the air towards Kaa. The area instantly filled with shockwaves as Fasha and Pikkon attacked at blinding speeds and bashed Kaa around like a tennis ball. The monster was unable to mount any sort of defense against two stronger opponents and was beaten into the ground several times, not given one chance to rest. _That's what I did to him earlier, and it had no effect! I doubt this will do a hell of a whole lot either._ I was right, I didn't sense Kaa's power drop one bit, but it didn't rise either.

"They are tearing him apart!" Olibu celebrated.

"No, they're not. It may seem like they're winning, but the beast isn't taking any damage, or at least none that I can sense. His power hasn't budged," I explained.

"I don't understand, anyone taking a beating like this should at least damage!"

"Yeah, I don't get it either, but I was unable to hurt him with my full power, and it only made him stronger! Our beam didn't kill him and it was way more than he should be able to handle!" I said.

"Then he must be holding back, that is the only logical explanation!" Olibu argued.

"That's the thing, I know he isn't. He would have to be a great deal stronger than me to hide his true power, and I can sense every bit of it. There must be some sort of special way to kill this thing that we don't know about. I'll bet the Kais do, but they're locked up!" I replied.

"Then we should try to take down that barrier, but how?" Olibu asked.

"Well, that blasted wizard created it, we take him out and it's easy. But he's already dead, so that might pose a problem, and he might just lock us up in there as well, obviously that won't do any good. Is there a way back up to Other World that we could make use of, maybe to lure the monster up there?" I asked.

"Are you crazy, if we show that thing the way out, he'll tear through everyone and everything up there! We should keep him contained here!" Olibu suddenly shouted as the shockwaves continued.

"Trust me, if Babidi can lock up all of the Kais and King Yemma, he and Kaa can get up there no problem. I imagine he's letting him run loose down in order to gain power from all the other villains!" I suggested, drawing a blank from Olibu. I glanced at Arqua, who had remained very quiet through all of this, but then again, the fish man barely talked as it was.

"Arqua, go find the way out of here and give everyone up there an update, this might take awhile! You're no good to us here, no offence but he'll just take your energy if we tried that water trick again! But I want you to mark the general area where the exit it by making a large water pool once you sense us coming, I assume it will remain in that form until you are knocked out? Good, get going!" I ordered as he nodded yes. He flew off as fast as he could, he obviously didn't want any more of this monster anyway.

"We all know the way out, except maybe you of course, but what is the point of luring this beast up there?" Olibu asked.

"I figure if we can, then maybe that thing will take out that barrier since we couldn't, I think you can figure out my plan from there. How do we get out?" I asked.

"There are two ways, one is the secret passage that leads to King Yemma's office, which lies in a cracked mountain in a remote part of Hell. The other is directly below Snake Way, very close to our current position. It is where the spirit cleanser feeds into Hell, there is a stairwell near it that leads to just outside his palace. It will be difficult to find since there are no souls being filtered through, but it isn't impossible. Arqua is heading towards that one," Olibu explained. A loud crack suddenly caught our attention and we turned to see that Pikkon had punched Kaa directly in the face with almost all of his strength. He and Fasha backed off a bit, both a bit winded, but Pikkon's energy was suffering a bit more since he was using Kaioken almost the entire time. Speaking of which, he finally ceased using it and slowly recovered while Kaa was laid out on the ground. Kaa slowly got back up, and I managed to make out no real damage on his body, aside from a few blemishes from being bashed around. The entire time I was discussing things with Olibu, Kaa hadn't even managed a punch, nor much of any evasive movement.

"Nothing at all, even after all of that!" Olibu pointed out. _Man, unreal! Anyone getting owned that bad should have at least a bruise!_

"Hahahaha! Still having trouble I see! Are you weaklings ready to give up now?" Babidi asked from nearby, slowly walking towards our position.

"Forget it wizard, we'd die before that happened!" I shouted.

"In case you haven't noticed, there is a halo above your head, so that is obvious. Are you ready to face extinction though? I promised Kaa that he could enjoy your little attacks before he gets down to business! Looks like he's ready to do just that!" Babidi replied with a malicious grin. I allowed a gasp to escape me as I realized the truth. _He's right, that thing hasn't truly attacked us much at all, and other than that short battle I had with him. But if he can fight anywhere near as well as I can, then he's just been waiting for us to run out of gas before he attacks for real. Cheap but effective._

"Fasha, Pikkon, get away from him!" I shouted out. Kaa was already flying towards Pikkon, who kept his stance. Pikkon swung a little too hard and didn't expect Kaa to dodge it. Pikkon was quickly floored from behind by a strong kick. He skidded through the ground before flipping upward, soaring and spreading his arms, concentrating his energy into blast similar to a final flash type of movement.

"Super Energy Bomb!" he shouted, dropping a large green blast on Kaa. A bright explosion lit up the lands, creating yet another crater and filling the entire area with dust. But when the dust cleared the crater area, Kaa was nowhere to be found. I still sensed his power nearby, so I knew better than to guess the obvious. I heard a scream of anguish and saw Pikkon plummeting to the ground from his previous position. I saw Kaa with a knife hand held out, and then lost him as he suddenly phased out. I tracked him to below Pikkon's falling form, his claw pointing straight upward.

"Look out!" I managed to shout. Pikkon slumped as he landed, the claw going right through his stomach. Blood erupted from his mouth and onto Kaa, who didn't seem to mind as he began to absorb his energy. Almost instantly Pikkon's power level dropped to nearly nothing, and Kaa's power increased by a decent amount, enough to pass Fasha's power when she was at her maximum. _Damnit, we have to escape. There is no stopping this thing!_

**Power levels:**

**Verto: 300,000,000 (drops)**

**Ancient Kaa the Soulless: 340,000,000; after absorbing Pikkon's energy: 430,000,000**

**Pikkon: 280,000,000; Kaioken: 420,000,000**

**Fasha (SS2): 390,000,000**

**Next time on DBV: Fasha and Verto escape while Olibu distracts Kaa. It is all for nothing as Kaa wipes him out before coming after them. When they are backed into certain doom, another fighter arrives to take on Kaa while they get away, but who is it? And can they take down Kaa where no one else has been able to, find out next time!**


	26. Desperate Measures

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Diablo 2 or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 25: Desperate Measures**

"You two should escape while I hold him off," Olibu stated once we had regrouped a few seconds later.

"No, I'm not letting that thing take another one of us. We leave together!" I said defiantly. Olibu walked straight forward anyway, ignoring me completely. I prepped to take off after him, until Fasha's hand tugged my shoulder back.

"No - kid - he's right, we should get out of here. It's obvious we can't beat this thing, and he's sacrificing himself to allow us a chance to run. We shouldn't be rude and say no," she said.

"Come and get me you freak!" Olibu shouted as he lifted into the air and blasted off into the horizon. Kaa gladly obliged and took off after him, covering a few miles within a few seconds. Babidi stayed behind but seemed transfixed on their positions.

"Let's go while we can. I doubt you want big and ugly to spot us on the way out!" Fasha whispered, powering down to normal and lifting into the air. I gazed into the distance as I rose beside her, sensing Olibu and Kaa stop a few miles away. We hadn't gone far when Olibu's power signal plummeted and Kaa's rose just a bit more.

"Man, we gotta find out how to beat that thing," Fasha said as we cleared a few mountains, already a few miles away.

"Dabura might have been right. I'm starting to wonder if he isn't in fact an immortal of some kind. He said the Kais were able to seal Kaa away, but that no one could ever beat him. We clearly can't beat him using the usual methods, maybe if we knew where Babidi dug him up from," I suggested.

"Again, complicated, since anyone knowing that information is either locked up or incapacitated," Fasha pointed out. I sensed a power surge from Kaa and felt him heading towards us from the distance.

"Hey we should drop to the ground and suppress our power before he catches up!" I suggested, getting a quick nod from Fasha in the process. We landed in a large canyon with a river of blood flowing through, hiding behind a few large boulders. I suppressed my power easily just as Fasha did hers, but then I noticed a slight problem. While I could conceal all of my power with little effort, Fasha couldn't hide her Psi signal. While it wasn't overly large by any means, all Kaa would have to do to sense it was sniff the air. I suddenly sensed him arrive above and hover above the canyon, looking for us.

"_Damnit, we can't hide your Psi signal from him - he's going to find us!"_ I thought to her, despite the fact that she was standing right next to me.

"_Can't you use that invisibility trick to hide us?"_ she asked.

"_Yeah I could, except he could probably sense the spike in energy before it takes effect!"_

"_Damn, looks like we'll have to fight our way out. Just how we like it eh?"_ she asked with a pride-filled smile that I returned.

I thought it over for a moment, "Okay, if we attack together and knock him into the distance or at least out of it for a few moments, that should be all the time we need to make a run for it. The only problem is, where would we go? Arqua left Hell and I doubt we have time to look for the secret exits before grumpy finds us again," I said, glancing up as Kaa was almost directly above us.

"I know of a place, just follow me once we get going," Fasha said with a slight wink.

"All right then, I'll distract him, you nail him! Then while he's stunned, we blast him! On three!" I said, beginning to power up. Fasha brightened up the canyon with her Super Saiyan 2 power a second later. I sensed Kaa lock on to us instantly, and his ugly face appeared right away.

"Three!" I shouted, soaring upwards. Kaa looked at me with a hungry grin, but stopped his initial movement when I dodged aside and moved past him. Fasha caught him with a straight uppercut not a second later, and the beast was stunned. We dropped back about thirty feet before chanting our attack together.

"Ka me ha me - HAAA!" Our combined blue beam rushed towards Kaa in a heartbeat, who remained floating in mid air. Just as the attack should have nailed him, he suddenly phased out. _Damnit!_ I barely had time to turn before his kick caught my already injured ribs, lighting up my pain receptors once again before I hit the ground. I attempted to get up, only to receive a nasty jab of pain in doing so, and only managed to get to one knee. Above, Fasha and Kaa were duking it out again, only Kaa was attacking this time, and Fasha was having trouble keeping up thanks to burning up so much energy earlier. It only took one slip for the fight to become completely one sided, and Kaa caught it when Fasha over pursued on one of her punches. She was instantly floored by the monster's right hand, and the next fifty or so hits that followed. She hair turned back to dark brown as she fell and so did my heart. I charged Kaa as he followed her, thinking about how I was going to rearrange his face. Keyword - think. A nasty backhand sent me backwards, and I got up with desperation.

"You get away from her!" I warned. Kaa chuckled slightly, giving me a grin that tortured my insides as he picked her up by the throat. His claw extended and he prepared to finish her off. My thoughts ground to a halt and I only had one thing on my mind, I had to stop him by any means necessary. I took whatever was left of my ki energy and got it ready for what was likely going to be a suicide run. I was running on fumes as it was, but I guessed that I could handle about half of my full power in normal form for a few more seconds, and that was all I needed.

"Hey, freakshow! You'll have to go through me first!" I challenged as Kaa barely turned his head. To my surprise, he dropped her and stalked my way, his claw swinging like a tail wagging in anticipation.

"Yeah, right. I'd sooner destroy myself before letting you do that! Bring it on!" I declared, prepping myself for my attack and hoping that it didn't backfire. He uttered something that sounded like the combination of a laugh and a growl, before charging towards me. I bent my knees slightly as I released my remaining energy, and then got ready for what would be an extremely painful power surge. _I don't have enough power to knock him away, guess its time to do something stupid. _

"Kaio-ken Times three!" The aura was mostly red with blue streaks, but it wasn't as red as the blood that I felt gushing around my busted ribs a half second later. I met Kaa in midair and punched him as hard as I could across the cheek. He was stunned again and I didn't waste a moment in forming a blast designed to send him into the distance, forcing all of my ki into it.

"Final Flash!" The golden beam swallowed Kaa and rushed into the distance, exploding a half minute later and blinding anyone nearby to its awesome light. I dropped to the ground, huffing and puffing, my ki energy was almost completely gone. I landed badly and felt my knee pop before it gave out completely, but I ignored it. I felt Kaa underneath some rubble where the explosion had been, and his power signal was recovering slowly. _Well, he felt that one! _More pain erupted from my rib area, and spread all around my stomach before intensifying. I clutched it and groaned a bit on the ground, feeling that I may have damaged myself more than I thought. It kind of reminded me of what my Super Kaio-ken blast did to me right before I had died before, but not quite that severe. My hands suddenly felt numb, as did my feet and legs. I glanced at them in-between pain spurts and saw that I could see through them for a moment. _What the hell did I just do?_ I soon felt this way all over as another wave of pain rushed through me, this time all over, and I cried out. Fasha knelt beside me with a look of concern. My eyes became salty from all of the pain coursing through me, and I gazed up at her bloody and bruised face, getting back a look that bordered on terrified. I attempted to use my Psi energy to dull the pain like I would any other time with ki, and it increased in magnitude even more. The scream that followed probably made her deaf for the moment, but I stopped channeling Psi and the pain returned to its already unbearable state. I felt faint and my body started to shut down, ignoring the searing feeling I was getting.

"Come on, let's get you some help!" she said, sliding her arms underneath my neck and knees. I gazed at her saddened face as everything faded to blackness.

**Interlude 25.1 –Escape-**

Fasha flew slowly over the desolate lands of hell, going in the opposite direction from King Yemma's place, but away from Kaa and Babidi. Verto's body continued its brief intervals of fading in and out, as did his low energy, almost like he was dieing. It never ceased in emitting an erratic but weak aura. She was concerned about this latest development and hoped that she could find help in her destination, but didn't feel overly good about it. She sensed Kaa's power signal emerge again, the blast had knocked him silly long enough for them to get away. She was so concentrated on Kaa's energy, that she nearly ran into the figure that appeared in her path. She glanced up and stopped in time, tightening her grip on the boy in her arms.

"Now what are a pair of strong Saiyans like yourselves doing down here?" the figure asked.

"Please, let me pass - he needs help!" Fasha said with caution in her voice.

"Do not worry, I would rather defeat the boy when he is at his best. I've rarely seen anyone in such a poor condition, but he should recover. I am merely curious about why you are here. What kind of creature was able to do that to him?"

"A very unique one, we were all unable to kill the monster that caused this to happen. Now please step aside, I need to go!" Fasha said, moving to his left.

He held out an arm and stopped her momentarily, "I suggest you change direction and proceed that way for a few miles before turning back. It will throw them off your trail just incase they get by me!" he suggested, pointing to his left. Fasha nodded and blasted through the air, going as fast as she possibly could. The tall figure watched her vanish into the distance before heading straight for the enemy they had faced. Once she had flown a few miles further, Fasha powered back up to Super Saiyan and blazed through the skies to her true destination, going as fast as she could now go. She sensed no one trailing them and sighed with slight relief while maintaining an intense scan of the crumpled boy in her arms. Verto had moaned and groaned in pain a lot, often in tune with a brief blink out where he almost vanished completely. Throughout their flight though he narrowly survived, and she felt his energy start to stabilize a bit. Once it calmed down, his erratic aura faded, and he truly fell asleep. Fasha wasn't very relieved despite this, but she did feel better about their chances once his body stayed solid for longer periods of time. A couple of hours passed by pretty quickly as Fasha zoomed over the desolate lands, seeing virtually nothing but rock and the occasional blood pool. She sensed what was quite a battle going on behind her, but never stopped to admire it. Her energy started to fade as she gasped for breath, but she trekked on until she found her salvation a few minutes later. Several armored figures approached her in the air, some offering medical treatment as she landed, to which she refused until Verto's condition was addressed first. Large gates swung shut behind her, and she smiled a bit at this place that she could call Home.

**Interlude 25.2 –Kaa vs. Friezell**

"I wonder where that girl and the brat ran off to, they couldn't have gone far, not in their state. Kaa, I want you to tear this place apart until you find them!" Babidi ordered. Kaa was collecting himself at the bottom of a blown out mountain range, a fellow victim of the blast. Neither of them was prepared for the tall pink and purple skinned figure that landed a few moments later, but Babidi was the only one who was surprised.

"You? What do you hope to achieve by playing hero and challenging my monster? You'll just be another victim!" Babidi pointed out, though he looked a bit nervous.

"Let's get one thing straight you pathetic little waste of space! Your precious beast is challenging my authority over this realm, and you will both learn what it is like to wage war on me!" Friezell declared. Babidi continued ranting while Friezell sized up Kaa, trying to figure him out. _Obviously there's more to this monster than just his power. I honestly can't see how the boy could have fallen against this pitiful cretin, which means I must be cautious since I do not know the extent of its abilities. That claw is covered with dried blood, so this beast likely favors it as its primary weapon. I was able to sense its power rise shortly after another one of those tournament fighters went down, so perhaps it also serves as a way to take another's energy. Now if only the blasted wizard would shut up,_ Friezell thought as he glanced at Babidi for a brief moment. Kaa allowed himself to grin momentarily as he prepped to take on another potential victim, while Babidi finally settled down into a straight smirk, ready for another round of violence to ensue.

"So then, shall we get this show on the road, Kaa has an appointment with that brat and the girl and I would hate for him to miss it," Babidi chuckled.

"You assume you're going to get by me easily, a fatal mistake that you will regret as soon as I'm finished tearing your newest monster to shreds!" Friezell fired back.

"You will pay for your insolence! Kaa, remove him from my sight!" Babidi ordered. Friezell dropped into his stance just as Kaa charged, and already one thing was clear: Only one of them was going to leave in one piece.

Friezell ducked Kaa's initial charge, dodging the claw by a few hair lengths and phasing out. Kaa turned, confused right away that his prey had vanished already. Kaa was blown down by a hard kick from behind, skidding across the wasteland as Friezell landed again, stopping to study his enemy more thoroughly. Kaa was up within a few seconds, shaking off the effects from the kick and stalking forward once again. Friezell grounded Kaa's next charge with an easy dodge and knife hand to the back of the head. Kaa dropped to the ground in an instant, and remained there for the moment, seemingly out of it. Friezell allowed his eyes to narrow, as he sensed no dip in the monster's energy, not one fluctuation. _I see, this thing may or may not have the ability to keep up with me right now, but he is physically able to take some of the abuse, we'll just have to see how far his endurance goes._ Friezell charged up his two fingers with a sizable blast, and Kaa made no real effort to stop him.

"Let's see how you handle a real attack! Death Beam Cannon!" he shouted. The Pink spiral beam knifed through the air and struck Kaa in the chest, leaving a decent explosion behind. The dust cleared rapidly, and Friezell noticed that his attack barely left anything behind other than a small bruise and a little smoke. Once again his energy signal didn't budge, and Friezell was slightly perplexed. He knew this thing wasn't hiding any power, he couldn't have without taking some form of damage. Kaa didn't wait for Friezell to charge up another one, and attacked him instead. Friezell lifted an eyebrow in question, and dodged aside easily, giving the monster a hard knife hand to the back of the neck. Kaa dropped to the ground, stunned for a moment before getting back up and attacking again. Friezell dodged the beast's attacks easily once again, and didn't return any punches while he scanned his opponent all over. It only took a few minutes before Friezell noticed the demon's fighting style.

_It's strange, this demon has no real attack strategy at all, no pattern to follow. It appears that his only real weapon is the instinct to fight. Though it is difficult to guess what it will do next because of that, the boy couldn't have possibly lost to a creature that relies on brute force, he would have known to stay away and blast him. But since my own attack did nothing either...hmmm… _Friezell thought as he dodged more punches and kicks than he bothered to count. Kaa cocked a slight grin and continued his effort, despite not hitting Friezell once. Suddenly out of the blue, he punched forward with his right fist and extended his claw. Friezell saw it coming and jumped upwards, narrowly missing it as Kaa surged forward with his own momentum.

Friezell smirked slightly as he had read that action perfectly, "You don't actually think I'm stupid enough to let you hit me with that do you?" Kaa didn't answer as he flew towards Friezell with the claw extended. Friezell stopped for a second to let the monster reach him, and then slid out of the way just as he spun, allowing him to trip Kaa with his leg. Off balance, Kaa was hammered from behind by the fused villain, getting grounded by several dozen consecutive blows, each much harder than the last. Once effectively planted in the dirt, Friezell backed off, noting that his blows didn't leave behind much of any blemishes or bruises, though it was hard to tell with the demon's dark skin. He scanned his energy again, noting no drop in power whatsoever. _What is this thing, immortal? _

"Kaa! Quit playing around and take him down!" Babidi ordered as his monster picked himself up again. _Despite the inability to damage this thing, it cannot keep up with me either, it's a stalemate. I must proceed cautiously and pick good opportunities to attack with full force_, Friezell thought as he lowered into a defensive stance.

Kaa charged again and sliced towards Friezell, who dodged easily while Kaa got his claw stuck in the rocky lands for a moment. Friezell declined to hit him full force and sent a few weak ki blasts at him instead. Kaa phased out almost as they were released, attempting to floor Friezell from behind, to no avail as he blocked him easily. Kaa frowned at this as Friezell had watched him all along.

"What kind of fool do you take me for?" Friezell asked, reading Kaa's body language. Kaa didn't answer and charged again, missing badly with his claw and paying for it when a kick to the head sent him into the dirt. Again, Friezell declined on taking the chance for a big attack and settled for a few smaller ki blasts. Kaa was already moving once the blasts left his enemy's hand. _I see, he doesn't move until he senses me launch energy blasts. He's trying to get me to waste a large blast so I will lose power and be potentially vulnerable to his attacks. A very poor choice of tactics_, Friezell thought with a slight grin.

Kaa was intent on getting Friezell to blast him, and missed completely on his next few attacks purposefully until Friezell decided to attack back. Kaa dropped his defenses almost immediately and let Friezell punch and kick the crap out of him until he was sent to the ground in a heap. _Well I won't disappoint him now, let's see what he thinks about this one._

"Ka me ha me…" Friezell chanted, noting that Kaa had not moved yet. Suddenly, he fired eye lasers at the monster, who flipped upwards and soared into the air to get away. _Perfect._ Friezell phased out right away and reappeared directly behind Kaa just as he stopped his ascent. The beam brightened as he filled it with power at the last second.

"HAAA!!!" The beam crashed into Kaa and carried him a good ways into the distance before giving off a deafening explosion. He felt Kaa's power signal finally take a drop, as he had no doubt gone through more than one mountain before the bang. Babidi looked furious, but didn't say anything towards it while Kaa gathered himself and returned. Friezell kept his confidence contained as he saw that Kaa had taken more than a little damage this time, though his power level did not drop as far as he had hoped. Kaa looked quite unhappy though that his plan had backfired and looked intent on making Friezell pay for it. He dropped into a similar stance to the Kamehameha and charged a beam of his own, loading it up before firing at Friezell, who dodged it easily. When he didn't feel the explosion, who glanced back to see the beam bending around back towards him. _The old homing attack trick. Well, this will feel a little odd now that I'm in Goku's shoes._

Friezell launched into the air and watched as the beam gave chase, noting that Kaa's arms were following a similar movement as he changed directions multiple times. He began to circle Kaa in anticipation of closing in on him and having his own beam blow up in his face. Kaa never faltered from allowing his beam to keep following, and therefore never had a chance to move out of the way once Friezell dove towards him from above. The resulting explosion left Kaa buried at the bottom of his own crater, slightly stunned about what happened. Friezell noticed more of a power drop this time, directly proportional to the amount of energy that Kaa had used with his blast and the amount he had expelled while controlling its movement. _So this creature doesn't like using blasts very often, it's obvious his concentration skills are mediocre at best._ Kaa had finally stood up by now, taking a slight breather while Friezell remained still, trying to read his opponent's next move. He maneuvered himself into a familiar position and fired another homing blast.

"Again?" Friezell blurted out. Kaa grinned slightly as Friezell took to the air and flew around him again. The pattern of run and chase continued again as Friezell was trying to figure out what the monster's true intentions were. He sensed a sudden spike of energy in the air and picked up on movement nearby besides himself and the beam. The movement suddenly shifted towards his path and reappeared in the form of a green skinned fighter in robes.

"Pikkon?" Friezell asked in slight surprise. Pikkon ignored him and attempted to kick him, to which Friezell blocked easily. The distraction gave Kaa all the time in the world to give his beam a speed boost. Friezell barely had time to glance back before the beam struck him dead on, liberating an arm and part of his head. He regenerated it as the smoke was clearing and eyed Pikkon carefully.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked. Pikkon didn't answer, but dropped into a fighting stance, favoring his right side a little. Friezell then noticed the large wound in his blood soaked robe, not to mention a very low power level, and he tried to figure out why Pikkon would come to fight in such condition. That's when he noticed the eyes, a dull gray and nearly lifeless. He took one glance at Babidi, who held a narrow grin.

"I take it you're responsible for this as well?" Friezell asked, eyeing both of his opponents.

"No that was Kaa's doing, enjoying his talents are we?" Babidi cackled.

"Such cowardice, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," he said, shaking his head slightly.

"It doesn't matter how the job is done, no one will question it when my rule over this dimension is absolute!" Babidi roared back.

"Perhaps, but don't count on it!" Friezell declared defiantly as he sunk into a defensive stance again.

**Power levels**

**Verto (weakened): 150,000,000 (drops fast); Kaio-kenx3: 450,000,000**

**Fasha: 370,000,000**

**Kaa: 430,000,000**

**Friezell: 550,000,000**

**Next time on DBV: I think it's obvious to say that the Kaa-Friezell battle continues, but the question is who wins? And while that is going on, where exactly is Fasha taking Verto for help? The answer may surprise you, then again it may not. But even so, what is happening to Verto, and can he pull through intact?**


	27. Fragmented Spirits

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Diablo 2 or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 26: Fragmented Spirits**

"Wow, who is fighting against Frieza and Cell out there?" one Saiyan asked as he looked to the skies, sensing the battle from very far away.

"I don't know but they'll be hard pressed to win at this rate!" another answered, "Hey, twenty credits says that mystery fighter will in!"

"Man, tough call, we've been sensing them go at it for nine hours! I'm in for Frieza and Cell winning! Hey Broly, who do you think is gonna win?" the first one asked again.

"That is irrelevant, but I suggest that you all train harder if they should track the girl here. If this mystery fighter was able to hurt the boy that badly, then we may not be able to stop him. Still it puzzles me, this creature does not feel that strong. Now get back to work, attack me!" Broly ordered, waving both Saiyans on along with a host of others.

"You call this training? You nearly kill us every time and we have to heal up in a regeneration tank every week!" a third, longhaired Saiyan pointed out.

"And to think, behind that yellow back you're actually Kakarot's brother! It's no wonder you haven't reached the Super Saiyan level yet, you're too afraid to risk yourself in a fight!" Broly said with a grin. Raditz charged him in anger, and paid for it when he was floored by Broly's fist. He crashed into a building and dropped to the ground, knocked out.

"Next! Remember, even if you lose, you will be stronger in the end!" Broly said, motioning with his hand. 20 Saiyans charged in to attack and were left laid out within a few moments, leaving Broly disappointed that he hadn't needed to power up once again.

"Go get healed up, you weaklings still can't stand on your own feet!" Broly shouted as the trainees slowly picked themselves up and limped off.

Broly sighed slightly, his afterlife stay hadn't been interesting enough. When he died on Earth, he was sent to Hell because of his past, but he didn't mind, it gave him the chance to beat up on past villains. When he heard of the Saiyan kingdom though, he proceeded there immediately so he could rejoin his people. He was welcomed there like a hero and was showered with whatever gifts they could conjure up, after all he was a walking god compared to most of them. King Vegeta had put him in charge of training their entire army, and it seemed like a suitable job for him. What he didn't expect was how weak his people still were, despite growing much stronger since their planet had blown up. Not one Super Saiyan was among them, despite having more than enough power to ascend to it. So the training was simple, he would beat the hell out of them every session and then they would have to heal and readjust to their new power before doing so again. Eventually he got it down to a science once he split the army into four large groups and had training sessions everyday, depending on which group was in fighting shape again. Several months went by quickly for the others since they were in the medical wards or in their own homes recovering for half the time. Broly was still disgusted with them though, he had long ago revealed how to transform, despite his easy mastery at birth. He figured out the problem easily enough, they simply did not have a threat to fight down in hell. With Frieza, Cell and the other villains so far away, no one ever bothered them and therefore they had no real drive to fight. Broly smiled a bit, that situation had just changed. _Maybe these fools will be a little more inspired now, once the boy is on the mend he can show them the kind of fighting spirit they have been lacking,_ he thought as he walked off to one of the medical wards.

Fasha sat in a chair next to Verto's bed, bruised and bandaged up from her fight with Kaa. She had suffered a broken arm and several broken ribs to go along with a nifty little concussion. Verto however was not so lucky. Aside from the nasty gash that covered his right side, Kaa's claw had also shattered several of the ribs there, leaving bone fragments everywhere. His knee had dislocated and his collarbone was also fractured. Add to the fact that he was covered with other minor cuts and bruises and one might think it he had purposefully fallen into a meat grinder. His life signs were also unstable, enough that the medical staff did not want to risk putting him in a regeneration tank until he had stabilized. They also didn't want to attempt removing all of the bone fragments until then either. Occasionally his power would shoot up and down out of control before he began fading in and out for spurts of five to ten minutes at a time. He never completely faded, making everyone breathe a little easier, but it was a very scary concept every time it happened. Fasha herself could have been put in a tank and be healed within a few hours, but she did not want to be stuck in a tank thinking about all of this. She figured as long as Verto suffered, she would as well. Something else she had to deal with was the bystanders and a lot of Saiyans that her other self had befriended. The only Saiyan she truly knew personally in the entire kingdom was Broly, and it wasn't by much, hell she still hadn't wondered off to greet him yet. They had all asked her where Tora and Bardock were primarily, a few asked about Shugesh and Borgos as well. She had no true answer to go with it and elected to stick with a simple "I don't know". Some were relentless with the subject and didn't stop until she was forced to display her power. While extremely weakened, the sight of a Super Saiyan other than Broly was enough to silence the talking heads.

Fasha sighed slightly with a lowly frown, she wanted Verto to recover so she wouldn't have to deal with all these new faces and personalities by herself, the timeline difference was hard enough to deal with. When she was first sent to the Grand Kai's place, Dabura told her where she could find the other Saiyans and even showed her the way there. But she declined to go until now, feeling that it wasn't the same people she had left behind in the past. And she learned why it wouldn't be the same, the other version of Bardock's crew were all locked in stasis to prevent any sort of paradox. While even King Kai doubted that anything could happen, the Supreme Kais had already decided that it wasn't worth the risk, their timeline had undergone enough changes as things were. Something else was that the emergency medical staff and several other grunt workers were not Saiyans at all, but previous aliens that had worked on planet Vegeta, loaned out by Frieza. She learned that some were captured and forced into labor here, while others just needed something to do during their time in hell. Whether it was medical staff, food preparation or construction workers, a lot of aliens had brought their technology with, and they had plenty of protection with all of the Saiyans around. In some sort of strange irony, both Saiyan and alien lived together in nearly perfect harmony, providing for each other.

"How is he?" Broly asked from the door, startling Fasha who had nearly nodded off in her own thoughts.

"Better than he was, I haven't seen him start to fade for about two hours. I'm surprised you didn't come to see us sooner," Fasha said with a questioning look.

"Despite the fact that I am the strongest one here and can virtually do what I wish, I also uphold the oath I took to make the Saiyan race strong again. It hasn't worked quite as well as it did on Earth, but there is nothing to fight out here so it's a little difficult to motivate anyone. Why haven't you gotten healed up yet?" Broly asked, suddenly changing the subject.

"I don't want to miss anything should he happen to fade completely. If he's going to die, it will be with me at his side!" Fasha said sternly. Broly let that go for the moment and asked what had happened out there. Fasha explained it all from the moment she had entered hell to when she arrived in the kingdom. After she was done expressing her concerns, Broly started to laugh slightly, which agitated her quite a bit.

"Silly girl, he isn't going to die. I know the boy well enough for that. Go get yourself healed and then meet me at the training grounds in a few hours, you obviously need to work out some issues. Either go yourself or I'll drag you in there by your hair!" Broly warned. Fasha stood up but didn't move, staring downwards and shaking her clenched fists a bit.

"Fine, if it'll get your sorry ass in a healing tank, I'll watch over the boy until you get back! But I expect a good match in return!" Broly said, rolling his eyes slightly as he recognized the girl's distressed look. Fasha calmed down a bit and walked off slowly, glancing at the bed-ridden boy a few more times on her way out.

"Women," Broly muttered, walking to the right side of Verto's bed and taking a look at the deep knife like gash that Kaa had left behind. Broly ran his finger along the front side, measuring about one foot long before it bent around towards his back. For the most part it was about a quarter of an inch wide, but widened towards the top of the arc it left up to almost a full inch. It was still dripping blood and the bandages were extremely soaked and in need of being changed. _The kid is lucky that he's already dead, that would have been a fatal blow._

Verto's body suddenly convulsed and he shook a bit, seizure like. Broly sensed the boy's energy surface again, very tightly around the open wound, and shook it off as normal, the body trying to heal itself. All Saiyans generally used their energy on an unconscious level to help the healing the process, something very few of them actually realized until he had taught them how to sense power levels. Broly snorted slightly, the boy would be down for a little while, but should recover fine. That's when an energy spike caught his attention, and the boy's erratic aura appeared. But it wasn't the output of power that got his attention, it was where the energy was moving towards. Normally when a Saiyan was injured, their energy would flow everywhere, strengthening the entire body and not just the afflicted area, the prime reason why all Saiyans were so much stronger after recovering. In this case, Broly noticed that all of his energy was flowing towards the area of shattered bones, and was collecting at one small point before fading again. Broly allowed his eyes to narrow, there was something floating around with the bone fragments that was not supposed to be there. Verto's eyes suddenly opened wide and he started to scream rather loudly, giving the nearest alien doctor and nurse ample reasons to come running while Broly held him down once he started struggling. They managed to give him a sedative and he calmed down again, Broly noted that his eyes changed from gray to blue once he was calm again.

"What happened?" one doctor asked Broly directly.

"Not sure, but I think there is something embedded in his wounded ribs that isn't supposed to be there, maybe some sort of poison," Broly said.

"Fasha did mention that the creature that did this had large claws, perhaps it was a venom of some kind," the doctor suggested.

"Venom designed for a purpose," Broly muttered as he stepped away. He scanned the boy's energy again, noticing that it had dropped again from an already very low level and it was very strange in feeling, almost emotionless. Thanks to training with Goku and Vegeta as well as the others, Broly had become quite adept at reading emotions within power signals, and it gave him a tactical advantage since he had very good control over his own. He could even read them at a low level when others slept, something he was used to since most of the Saiyans were always recovering from his training sessions. What he sensed now though, was emptiness, as if the boy's mind was not active.

"Doctor, come here and look at this! The bone fragments are glowing slightly!" Broly looked up suddenly as the nurse removed the bandage, showing the bloody gash filled with several bone fragments embedded in it. Most of them were white, though dyed a bloody red for obvious reasons. Some of them though were glowing an eerie blue and stopped long enough to show a different texture.

"I don't think those are Saiyan bone fragments, once he stabilizes, we will remove them with immediate surgery!" the doctor ordered.

Broly stopped him before he could leave, "The girl mentioned that the creature that did this could turn his victims into mindless zombies, I think that this may be how it did this. You should remove them now!"

"But it is too dangerous right now, he could easily die during surgery!" the doctor argued.

"Look at the halo, he's obviously already been through worse, I suggest you get that crap out of him before I remove your head!" Broly warned the alien. The doctor allowed some of the sweat from his green skin to trickle off, seeing his choice clearly.

"Tweezers please nurse!" he said, taking a long look at the large wound. Once he had a small enough tool, the doctor started plucking out glowing bone fragments onto a tray while the nurses monitored all vital signs. Broly started to become a bit concerned when the doctor had pulled out two dozen fragments with no signs of stopping. Broly silently counted up to thirty-seven single fragments that the doctor pulled out of the wound, most of them barely the size of a fingernail, but all were very jagged and sharp.

"Have these tested along with the boy's blood, see if we can flush this infection out in the revival tank. Too bad this boy no longer has a tail, those extra antibodies might have helped," the doctor said, ripping off a rubber glove. Broly scanned Verto again, and found this has energy had calmed itself and was slowly spreading all over like it should have done in the first place. His eyes shifted and winced sharply, entering a dreaming sleep stage. Broly sighed and leaned against the wall, _Damn, no wonder the girl was so concerned. At least that problem is taken care of. Now here comes the boring part until he wakes up again._

**Interlude 26.1 –Victory at Hand-**

Friezell knocked Pikkon away with a harsh fist before turning his attention to the charging Olibu. The human received similar treatment with a blow that should have rearranged his insides as he was sent sprawling as well. Friezell kicked the large Papoi away next before catching a claw aimed for his face. Kaa kept one of his sick grins displayed before Friezell nearly knocked his head off as he sent the demon flying. He frowned as he scanned all of his opponents, they were pushing him slightly. In addition to Pikkon, Olibu and Papoi had arrived in the same zombie like condition and they had all assisted Kaa in fighting him. They had little to no energy to speak of, so all of their attacks were with brute force. While none could really hurt him, they were annoying enough since they didn't seem to feel any pain at all and distracted him enough from the true enemy. With all four attacking at once, Friezell elected to take no chances and allowed Kaa to continue drawing out the fight, saving a large portion of his energy. The three zombies took a beating in the process, but Kaa never gave him a chance to finish them off as long as his power was down. He was grateful for his decision to absorb Buu's matter so long ago, it was keeping him going much longer with faster recovery time. _That's enough of this, its time to take them out of the equation. Shouldn't need to do anything more than disable them, I must save my energy for the big fish himself, _Friezell thought as his aura reappeared.

He hit maximum power quickly and Kaa's grin continued to grow, obviously thinking that he had him on the ropes. Pikkon and Olibu came charging in on his left just as Papoi came in on the right. Friezell noticed that Kaa wasn't coming in with them and grinned back at the monster's error. He fired a few small ki blasts to distract Kaa, and then unloaded on the three otherworlders with an insane number of punches and kicks, dropping all three within a few seconds. Kaa looked at him with a deep scowl after batting away the harmless blasts, his plan had backfired a bit. Friezell didn't let him think it over and charged in with a flying kick, nailing Kaa in the head. He dove to the ground quickly and bent Kaa's falling form over his knee with a backbreaker type of move. Friezell threw Kaa into the air before planting him again with a hard double arm smash that left another crater. Kaa slowly got to his feet before Friezell flew in and pounded him with dozens of hard punches, forcing him to back off once again. Kaa's body looked horrible, his chest was cut in several spots, his arms battered and bloody, and his face was more than a little bruised. His arms were even dangling a bit now, but Friezell refused to believe that he was done yet, his resiliency had proven otherwise many times already. He glanced at Babidi every so often to see if the wizard was giving him extra strength or healing him, but found that he likely wasn't, as he never did more than watch and occasionally taunt him. _This thing has got to be wearing down enough to risk a large attack, it's been several hours since this battle has started, and I'd almost wager that it's been almost half a day. I've got more than enough power to keep going, but this never ending stalemate is becoming most taxing on my patience. I'll wait for him to attack with another energy blast before I try anything, this thing has got to know that he can't match me blow for blow anymore._

Kaa slowly caught his breath and seemingly recovered from the beating he just took, bringing his arms back to a ready position along with his claw. Friezell charged ahead slower this time with a knife hand drawn back, waiting to see what the demon would do to retaliate. Kaa swung his claw at him instead, allowing Friezell to dive down and hit him hard in the gut, right under the sternum. Kaa shook a bit as he staggered backwards, dropping to one knee as he held his chest.

"So, are you really going to attack me, or keep up this fruitless effort? You can't keep up with me anymore!" Friezell taunted, trying to draw a response. A golden blast appeared in Kaa's other palm as he growled in anger, and then he charged a blast in his other hand as well, drawing both arms back. Friezell smirked slightly, seeing his own plan working well. Kaa let loose a rapid-fire string of ki blasts, watching as each of them were deflected easily with one hand. This continued for several minutes as Kaa wasted his power on Friezell, who only grinned back at him while sending the blasts flying away with ease. With every small blast, Kaa's power level dropped by a noticeable amount, and soon it became apparent when Kaa lost his breath from what anyone else would consider a weak effort. Friezell missed the last blast on purpose and allowed it to strike him in the chin, grinning back as it did next to nothing. Kaa's breath came even harder, but he pushed both hands together and charged a large beam that exploded around Friezell quickly, dealing almost no damage. Friezell smiled deeper now, he could smell victory. Kaa's power had dropped to nearly a fourth of what it was, which made him five to six times stronger than Kaa presently, the monster had no chance now. Kaa finally stopped launching blasts, slouching over and gasping for breath.

"Feeling a little winded I see, your lack of a brain is what cost you this battle. Now it's time to send you to oblivion!" Friezell declared, drawing back his arms for a familiar attack, lighting up the lands with blue light behind his golden aura. Kaa could barely move, and made no real effort to get out of the way, he seemed to have enough trouble breathing at the moment.

"Come on you freak, surely you don't want to bore me before I finish you off! I wanted to give you a chance before turning out the light! Give it all you've got!" Friezell dared just so he could keep Kaa locked in place. Kaa growled again and charged up both of his hands, looking determined to win despite his disadvantage.

"You lose now!" Friezell shouted, firing the large Kamehameha at Kaa's large golden beam. He quickly tripled the power of his beam, unloading most of the energy that he had been holding back for so long. The two beams clashed for a moment, giving off a similar power output to Cell's duel with Gohan. Unlike that one however, Friezell's beam swallowed Kaa's easily, and blinded anyone nearby with a deafening white explosion. Friezell blocked his face against the heavy dust and dirt that came through with the wind, chuckling slightly as he lost Kaa's power signal in the explosion. Friezell panted slightly, he had fired a ton of energy to make sure he had finished the job, feeling slightly thankful that the monster was dumb enough to stand there and take it. He stood up as the smoke cleared, not seeing or sensing Kaa nearby.

He turned and stalked towards Babidi, stretching the muscles in one arm as he laughed a bit, "Well, that's one down, one to go! Somehow I doubt you will put up as much a fight as that thing did! What attack should I kill you with?" Babidi's eyes were wide open now, as he no longer sensed Kaa either.

"What the, how did you kill him? You couldn't of had that much power left in you to do that!" Babidi screeched, looking concerned.

"Your monster's brainless tactics are a joke, well, they were a joke. Sure it was tough, but you would have been better off trying to resurrect another Majin Buu, at least that creature would have made me try harder!" Friezell boasted. Babidi backed up a few steps before falling down, his face filled with panic.

"Stay back you freak!" Babidi warned with a weak voice.

"Or what?" Friezell laughed as Babidi shook in fear. Friezell suddenly heard a few rocks tumbling out of the way from a short distance away, and stopped to sense what he deemed to be impossible. He turned back just in time to see a battered and bruised Kaa rise from the rubble left in his wake.

"You have got to be shitting me," Friezell muttered under his breath.

"Welcome back Kaa, are you going to finally finish this or not?" Babidi asked as his grin suddenly brightened. Kaa's scowl turned to a look of strain as he suddenly summoned his power again. Friezell's eyes filled with dread as he sensed Kaa's power returning from literally nowhere. A dark red aura surrounded him as his power rose. Friezell heard a few screams of anguish and glanced to see the zombie warriors shaking a bit with an erratic blue aura surrounding them, containing an energy that Friezell couldn't sense. Then the blue energy rushed towards Kaa and his power jumped. Other strings of blue energy rushed to him from many directions and his power level slowly increased back to where it had been when the battle had begun.

_So that's how he keeps his power hidden, it comes from his victims' spirits and he can call upon it at anytime to recharge himself. That extra endurance doesn't help matters, but it doesn't appear that he can exceed his previous limits until he takes another victim, or until they recover a bit. I'm not sure I have enough power to wear him down again, and even so, he is basically immortal. I can see there is no stopping this monster._ Friezell sulked in thought as he slumped a bit, thinking over his options.

"Hahahaha, you didn't actually think you could beat Kaa did you? No matter what you do he will keep coming!" Babidi boasted. Then Friezell suddenly grinned brightly and powered up the rest of his energy. But he didn't stop there, he began to expand in size like a balloon, and his power increased ten fold as he had a new plan. Both Kaa and Babidi looked confused at this latest attempt, but neither panicked right away.

"Just what are you trying to do, you look ridiculous!" Babidi chuckled.

"Just wait, you'll see what will happen in about thirty seconds, I never lose without going out with a bang! Your monster will not survive this no matter how far away he gets!" Friezell laughed, preparing to release the bomb he had formed inside him. _If I self-destruct, there is a good chance that I won't be able to regenerate anytime soon, however with past experience and the extra recovery from Buu, I should survive. This thing however could not possibly withstand it, immortal or not. _Babidi's eyes filled with dread as he starting running away, but Kaa stalked forward. Friezell eyed the monster, wondering how brainless it had to be to not know what was coming.

Kaa's claw flipped out, causing Friezell to laugh, "It's a bit late for that, touch me and I might go off. You really should start running now!" Kaa didn't answer and stepped right up to him before stabbing him directly in the stomach.

"Big mistake!" Friezell shouted as he felt himself ignite. But the explosion never came, and Kaa's energy rose sharply as Friezell felt his insides being torn apart. His body started to shrink down to normal size as Kaa sucked his energy out, and he felt his mind shutting down. He desperately tried to punch him, but his body wouldn't respond fast enough. He powered up the rest of his energy for a suicide blast from within, a slightly different and less potent way of what he had planned, but he suddenly felt himself splitting apart, and then he saw nothing but blackness as he passed out. Kaa pulled the claw from Friezell's stomach, feeling out his new power as his opponent slumped to the ground. Friezell's body suddenly glowed brightly and split into two forms a few feet away from each other before dimming out completely. One form became Cell, and the other became Frieza, both of them motionless and powerless while Kaa laughed at their failure.

**Power levels**

**Friezell: 550,000,000; weakened: 280,000,000**

**Kaa: 430,000,000; weakened: 105,000,000; after taking Friezell's spirit: 510,000,000**

**Zombie fighters: 500,000**

**A/n: I'm sure many of you figured out the whole Saiyan Kingdom thing, and I'm sure most of you didn't think that Friezell would actually win. That's okay, I don't mind being totally predictable once in awhile.**

**Next time on DBV: Following the defeat of Friezell, Verto reawakens and receives a visit from an old friend. Meanwhile Kaa continues to plow through hell, slowly gaining more power. Can Verto regain his strength and stop the evil monster? **

**Well you likely know the answer to that too, but it's all about how it happens right? See you next time!**


	28. Reawakening

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Diablo 2 or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 27: Reawakening**

Broly glanced up as he lost Friezell's power signal suddenly. It had grown exponentially before fading out, telling him more or less what had happened. He felt Kaa's power rise by a decent amount as the other faded, the outcome was obvious.

"So, this creature is that powerful. Well, at least I'll have something to look forward to besides a sparring match with you, brat!" he said to the unconscious Verto. He sighed as he got no real answer, but at least the boy hadn't got critical ever since the doctor had pulled those strange bone fragments out. In fact, he was looking much better and was starting to heal just a bit, despite having a long ways to go. He hadn't started to fade since then either, and the doctors were convinced that once he regained his bearings, he could visit the regeneration tanks and get back on his feet. It had been a few hours since he had sent Fasha there, so he was anticipating her return so he could as least break a sweat for once. Verto appeared to be in a deep sleep for the moment, but every so often Broly heard a groan or two while the child's eyes flickered around a bit in dream state. He thought he heard a word or two mutter from his mouth, but once he heard him refer to the Overmind, he tuned it out. That was one creature he didn't want to remember. It was bad enough knowing that his sacrifice was in vain on Earth, but to learn that the overgrown weed had dishonored him by not only cloning but controlling a stronger, insane version of himself and used him as a tool to destroy his friends and their allies...it bothered him quite a bit. He was quite thankful that he had been sent to hell less than a day after he died, he didn't want to know the kind of person that his clone would have been.

_Then again, it may not be as hard to imagine. I used to blow up planets for the hell of it. If that clone was as powerful as I've heard, there is no reason I can't be, if only I had stronger training partners. Maybe I've been around these kids too much and have lost my edge. Other than the continued existence of the Saiyans and revenge on the Zerg, I haven't had much to train for. Perhaps I myself have lost the will to fight much like the others. Maybe there is more in life I need to discover. It is a bit boring now. At least I can look forward to some sort of fight in the future, whether it be with this creature or the kid. But after that, what else?_ Broly engulfed himself in his own thoughts long enough to not notice Fasha walk into the room, fresh from the tank and wearing new armor.

"So, how is he?" she asked. Broly didn't answer as he continued to glare straight forward, as if he was staring down the wall that was shaped like the Overmind.

"Hello, Broly?" Fasha asked again, a little annoyed that the large Saiyan had ignored her.

"What is it?" he answered, slightly startled.

"I asked you how he was doing, the doctors didn't fill me in!" she said in a stern voice.

"Better than before, he should be awake soon. But until then, come with me. We have some training to do, and I want the soldiers to learn from our match!" he replied, stepping towards the door. Fasha looked slightly confused at the lack of details and opening her mouth to protest before Broly cut her short.

"That creature defeated Cell and Frieza, we must train now before it gets here!" Broly said, replacing Fasha's confusion with determination. She glanced at Verto quickly before following him out the door.

**Interlude: Verto's dream**

After drifting in blackness for I'm not sure how long, the memories the past flowed through my thoughts, as if watching the highlight real of my Saiyan life. It covered everything from the end of my old world, to Buu, through the Zerg era and finally to Kaa. While I wasn't overly pleased to see and feel it all again, it was refreshing to know how well my mind was storing information. Then when I felt myself summon the Kaioken technique, my vision shifted slightly to an aerial view, as if I was using my spiritual vision on purpose. After blasting the monster into the distance, I collapsed and was picked up by Fasha, who started flying fast. My dream then showed me bone fragments floating in the massive slice across my side going up towards my shoulder and then down my back. A lot of them were barely bigger than a grain of sand, but many of them were different colors other than bloody red and white. Some looked slightly brown like Kaa's claw had been, and occasionally glowed blue. When they did, my body started to fade in and out, and I saw Fasha look very concerned while flying fast in Super Saiyan form.

"_So, do you understand what has happened?"_ a voice asked. I frowned slightly as I felt my feet suddenly touch a black ground and the surroundings lit up slightly with a dull orange in the distance. I was back in the depths of my mind, and I had a pretty good clue who was asking the question.

"Not really, but it looks like that creature poisoned me or something and it caused me to start fading in and out of existence. Am I getting warm?" I asked as a cloud of blue and green floated down. It reformed into a translucent version of my face and body, though was still a little fuzzy.

"Correct, in a manner of speaking. Technically it's both the creature's bone fragments and the strain of the Kaioken technique that did it, but you are close enough. It looks like a kind doctor was able to remove those pesky fragments though, lucky for you," the voice replied, as vague as I remembered.

"Cerebrate, I presume?" I asked, leaving a large scowl on my face.

"Not happy to see me eh?" he answered.

"What do you think? Yeah, maybe I want to take a vacation here in this empty hell hole and you can run my life!" I said in complete sarcasm.

"Now that would be interesting, though I don't think Vegeta would like it if I beat him in every sparring match. I don't mean to brag but I could probably outwit Goku pretty easily as well. A few more techniques from Dabura and a little work on your concentration skills and, heh, I'm pretty sure I could take them both at the same time!" he chuckled slightly.

"I wasn't being serious," I said cautiously this time.

"Neither was I, all I'm saying is that you are doing excellent in this short stay in the afterlife. Except for this creature Kaa, you have handled yourself very well. Most of the training you have left to cover is mastery of your new Chi techniques and as I said, work on your concentration skills. Like before with ki and Psi, you simply need to get used to using your full power more often. This is nothing new in your training, just a brush-up that takes more time than you currently have," he explained, making the scowl on my face grow some more.

"And just how much time is that? Is this your way of telling me of a new threat on the horizon?" I asked.

"There will always be threats, it is not my place to tell you when they will occur. Your destiny has yet to be truly revealed to you, and it won't be for some time. I'm just here on a routine check up. We sensed your struggle against this Kaa creature and then the aftermath, so we were a bit concerned. But you've pushed through it nicely and should be on the mend presently," Cerebrate replied with a nod of the head.

"Okay, you can keep the whole future threat thing and the great destiny from me, I don't mind that. But who is "we"? Are the Supreme Kais or someone else spying on me or something? And how would you know if you're fused with my body and mind?" I asked in a demanding voice.

"Oh, Verto, you think in such three-dimensional terms. Don't you think that you would know if the Kais were watching you too closely? Your mental abilities are more than advanced enough to sense that. And spying is such a dishonorable term. Perhaps, monitoring is a better word," he said vaguely.

"Okay, let's try this again, who is _monitoring_ me? I want a straight answer too, not this end-around shit you have been giving me!" I warned.

"Well, I'd hate to disappoint you, but I'm not authorized to supply that information. Let's just say a select group or two are very interested in you and will be watching you from now on," he said, turning his head to the side.

"Continue," I said the instant he stopped, knowing he was trying to leave me hanging again.

"And I am both here and there. Your fusion took the rest of my energy and some of my mental capacity, but I am not actually bound to you anymore. I passed on when you fused with my essence, and left at the same time your evil half did, in a most uncomfortable way I might add. My actual physical and spiritual being is far away from here in another realm, where it will stay until you need me again. While you may develop some of my characteristics in battle strategy and reasoning, I am no longer a part of you. It is sort of like when Cell absorbs another life form with his tail, they die, but he gets their energy and even some of their mental capacity, though your version is much different. Right now I am simply not allowed to tell you the circumstances of now and the future just yet. Doing so will introduce, an unstable element to an already potentially volatile situation. The group I've mentioned, they are only curious for now, they do not pose a threat at the time, so do not dwell on them. Right now your only focus should be your own life and to better yourself. You will be brought up to speed at the appropriate time. Now then, I really need to get going. I'm not even supposed to be talking to you now," he finished, turning around as he reformed into a thick cloud once again.

"What about Kaa, how can I destroy him?" I asked.

"Due to Babidi's interference and his magical barrier, the only ones who know that are locked away. Free the Kais and you will learn how. As you know, conventional methods are not effective enough to stop him, an old rival of yours has learned this the hard way. Don't be afraid to call on the help of your friends and others, they can assist you in this battle after you've recovered, or at least delay the beast. I doubt we will meet again anytime soon as long as things stay as they should, but with you, that is unlikely anyway," he replied, floating towards the distance and beginning to fade away. _As vague as ever, not that I expected different._

The cerebrate suddenly stopped and floated back towards me as he began to fade, "One last thing, watch yourself with Frost. He is a crafty one," he said, fading out. _So much for not giving me information, now I know that we'll have to deal with another Frieza relative, the only question is when._

-

I awoke on a bed covered with white sheets and a few beeping noises all around, full memory of the mental conversation I had just had. I glanced up to see some sort of medical monitor beeping in tune with my heart. I tried to sit up and was treated with a nice little eruption of pain from my right side, causing me to cry out loudly as I wasn't expecting it. A rush of aliens wearing medical clothing and Saiyan armor came running in, but only one stayed once they saw that I was actually awake and only sitting up. I examined myself, seeing more than a fair share of bandages and even a few IV like tubes sticking in my right arm. I was thankful though that at least they had left my green pants on, hospitals are bad enough without having to remove your clothing.

"Awake at last I see, you are recovering a little faster than we expected. At least we'll be able to use a revival tank now," the doctor said. I eyed him carefully, he had green lizard-like skin with orange hair and large eyes.

"Where am I anyway?" I asked.

"Medical Ward Five, you've been here for about four days now. You were in pretty rough condition when the girl brought you in, but that's all in the past," he explained, looking over a clipboard.

"And where exactly is Medical Ward Five?" I asked, scanning around with my energy senses. Right away I picked up on numerous amounts of people of many species, but there was one energy type that stood out more than any other - Saiyan.

"Oh that's right, you are new here. Well, let me be the first to welcome you to the Saiyan kingdom. Most of the dead refugees from planet Vegita now reside here, along with a few others. Afterlife is pretty good here, and very routine since the Saiyans have settled down a bit from their ruthless nature of old - oh, sorry about that," he shut up when he caught my glare.

"Where's Fasha anyway?" I asked, ignoring his comment.

"Oh the girl, she is probably out sparring with the legendary one. She has been here by your side a lot, but clearly needed to work out some emotional issues in the way you Saiyans do best. I've never seen another Super Saiyan other than Broly before, so this has been quite an honor," he said with a slight bow.

"Yeah, enough with that. You mentioned a regeneration tank that I could use?" I said, quite eager to leave the bed.

"Oh yes, we should have one available soon, you should try to relax until then, that small body of yours took quite a beating. I'll have a Saiyan nurse come in and remove those medicine tubules, I doubt you want me doing that. Then again, I'm not sure I could anyway," he suggested.

"Fine," I said with a frown, lying back and staring at the ceiling. The doctor left me to my thoughts and I pondered over how I was going to free the Kais. I hadn't tried everything before, but I was pretty sure I couldn't get past Babidi's magical barrier. Not to mention that, but how in the hell I was going to beat Kaa. I sensed two high power levels duking it out not far away, one being Fasha and the other feeling a lot like Broly had. It had been so long since I had actually sensed the real legend without having a ton of Zerg implants embedded in him, so I had nearly forgotten what his power signal felt like. I also sensed all the other Saiyans nearby, and there were a lot, more than I bothered to count. A great deal of them felt like they could be Super Saiyans, but hadn't reached the level yet. I also scanned for Kaa's position, sensing it a long ways away, slowly moving about and taking on weaker opponents that I couldn't identify. He felt like he might be heading towards us, but it was hard to tell since he was moving slow and so far away. If I had to guess, I would say that he was well over ten thousand miles away, maybe even twenty thousand. I considered trying to meditate while I was sitting in bed, but the flashes of pain I was getting once I sparked an ounce of power told me I shouldn't try to just yet. So I stayed in bed and drew shapes with my imagination on the ceiling until the nurse came in. This time it was a large Saiyan woman that came through, ducking on the way in. I barely noticed her until her large head appeared, assuring me that it wouldn't take long to remove things.

"Okay little guy, this might sting for a moment, but you'll just have to tough it out!" she claimed. That's when I recognized her from the past, the large form was a dead giveaway, but the voice and appearance sure helped in remembering the name that went with her.

"Clerpe?" I asked carefully.

"How did you know my name already, did you overhear it and pretend to be asleep during the past few days? Sneaky little devil, aren't you?" she asked while giving my sore face a slight pinch and slap.

"Oh yeah, that must have been it," I replied quickly, realizing that this wasn't the same Clerpe that I had met in the past. Her personality was different. _Must have given up that whole snatch and rape routine with other males. I would say that my lesson taught her that, but since this isn't the same one, I doubt that. _

"So, is Fasha a relative of yours or something? Did you just die or what?" she asked.

"Yeah, you could say that," I said, unsure of what she actually knew about us.

"Well she never mentioned you before. It was strange that she and her crew would be called away and then only she came back not only a Super Saiyan now, but also with a tag-along. She mentioned that you two were in a spicy battle, but she wouldn't tell me anything else. Kind of annoying really, not even telling her best friends about where she had been!" Clerpe said in a disappointed tone. _Best friends, with you?_

"I'm afraid she never mentioned her friends much, she did say that you two were rivals or something way back when," I answered carefully, probing for more information.

"Yeah, when we were alive that was the case. But total annihilation of your people does strange things I guess. We've been friends and training partners ever since coming here to this sanctuary that was established by our ancestors, hell, we're even roommates now. It's just too bad we can't return to life like the Saiyans of Earth, but at least our people will live on in both realms now," she said with a slight tear in her eye. She wiped it away and pulled out the needles that were stuck in my arm, applying a bandage while I groaned a bit. She carefully removed and replaced the large batch of bandages that covered my whole right side, commenting on how big of a scar it was going to leave, increasing the groaning volume from myself.

"Alright, my work is done. I'll be back a bit later when we get a regeneration tank freed up and ready for you. See ya!" she left with a slight wave and warm smile. _Okay, what just happened? That is not the same woman I met a year ago, no way._

-

About an hour later, a sweaty Fasha came in, looking very surprised that I was awake and sitting up. "They said you'd be out of it for several more days," she explained, looking very happy to see me.

"Yeah well, doctors overestimate sometimes," I said with a grin. I heard a slight stomping and sensed Broly coming closer before he entered the room.

"No worse for the wear I see. That creature must packed quite a wallop to mess you up this bad!" he said with a smirk.

"Not exactly, but I'll get to that later. I'm a little on the hungry side and I'd like to visit that regeneration tank soon. I hate being cooped up in bed." I frowned as Fasha and Broly chuckled slightly.

"Just tell me it was you or Gohan that beat the Overmind. Hell I'd settle for it being the prince as long as it wasn't Kakarot. It's bad enough I have to put up with his legend around here, but if he's still taking out all our enemies in the living world, I'll never hear the end of it! Especially if he beat that clone of myself!" Broly said. I glanced at Fasha, who obviously didn't know due to the circumstances.

"It was a team effort, and everyone including Goku contributed quite a lot to the cause, but I finished the job. I know for a fact he didn't beat that cloned version of you, Gohan and I did that," I said, recalling that event quite clearly.

"Good, at least the King will have a good story once you are up for telling it. He's been quite interested and the Kais have put quite a hush on it past a few minor details that the demon Dabura gave us. Fasha was only able to fill me on details up till her own death," he said, ignoring the fact that her death was a very sensitive subject.

"Anyone have any idea when I can get that tank?" I asked, trying to get off that topic before storytelling began.

"Oh, well a batch of recruits just got sent through there after the training session today, they should be out soon. Until then, fill me in. I may have a loose wire or two up top, but I still enjoy a good story about an epic battle. Especially if I wasn't there to enjoy it," Broly said, motioning to his head. _A loose wire or two? I doubt that's even close._ Luckily my salvation came through the door as Clerpe came in to let us know that a regeneration tank was ready. She and Fasha assisted in getting me there as I was not in walking condition just yet while Broly left the area slightly disappointed. I managed to doze off as the cold water rushed in and soothed my wounds, though far from easily as I sensed Kaa's continued presence far away.


	29. Seperation

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Diablo 2 or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 28: Separation**

"…And in doing so I basically killed myself to beat the overgrown weed," I said, finishing the battle story to both Broly and King Vegeta. It had been a few hours since I was out of the regeneration tank and I was currently in the great hall with those two and Fasha, along with several dozen guards and nobles who apparently wanted to hear everything as well. There was even someone writing everything I said down on paper. I had been given a new blue jumpsuit to wear along with new boots, gloves and armor, though I declined on the armor for the time being. Overall my healing job was complete, except for that horrid scar that covered my right side. My energy was still a bit low, but it had been awhile since I had any food so I wasn't surprised. Same thing went for my Psi energy, and I figured I just needed rest with that, I had overexerted myself just a bit in the last battle despite trying to hold it back. The King however wouldn't let me eat until the story was heard, saying that I had waited long enough. Despite the respect I had for the man being Vegeta's father, I would have preferred to tell him where to shove it at the time. I kept calm throughout though with Fasha's help, and mental reminders when she felt my voice was rising just a bit, or that it was too calm when I was really frustrated with the constant questions that interrupted me. Of course they all wanted to hear about my fight against Buu and Friezell, not to mention Janemba and Kaa, but I bargained out of it to get some food and rest before telling it tomorrow. King Vegeta offered up sleeping quarters, likely to get an ahead of time story before everyone else. Despite his emotional control, I could sense the excitement from him as I explained everything, and smirked as I declined so he would have to wait longer. After polishing off a meal fit for the King himself, Fasha and I went back to her dorm, where Clerpe was staying as well. I was a bit weary of sleeping in the same room as the Saiyan version of an Amazon that had the sex drive of a porn star, but once I got a good feel of her personality, I knew nothing would come of it. It also wouldn't have mattered, I was a kid again anyway.

I woke up the next day to Fasha being gone, and by the feel of it sparring with Broly again. Clerpe was sitting on her bed, slumped over with her hands in her hair, crying softly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, startling her.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" she asked, quickly trying to hide any evidence of her depressed state.

"No, are you going to answer my question?" I asked again.

"Well, it's personal. Nothing for a warrior to worry about," she quickly said.

"Apparently, it's not stopping you. Go on, I'm a big boy," I said, sitting up in bed. She didn't answer and looked the other way, but the emotions pouring out of her energy level reeked of sadness and despair. It didn't feel like a threat on her life by any means, just a deep depression that appeared to have lasted a long time. Then I realized that she didn't have anyone to be with in the past, a prime reason she came after me before, and there were certainly no signs of a husband here. I didn't see any markings on her neck either, so I had it figured out, but slow played the obvious facts.

"I take it you have nobody else in your life?" I asked straight up.

She stared at me with slight surprise. "How did you know that, a little young to know about that aren't you?"

"I know most of the details when it comes to that kind of personal issue, both by fact and experience. And I can sense the inner turmoil. But what amazes me is that all this time you've been here in the afterlife, you have no one to love. Which surprises me, since you're such a strong willed woman," I said, cracking a smile.

"I wasn't always like this, there was a time where I was trying to bag a mate and actively competed with others. After shit hit the fan, I more or less gave up on it. Especially after Fasha and Tora got together," she said, setting off alarms inside my head.

"I see," I replied somehow calmly once I thought the facts over, "So what is stopping you now. You lose your drive? You still look good, despite being huge," I joked slightly.

"What are you, my counselor? I don't see how a tiny brat that came from nowhere would care about my personal life!" she shouted in frustration, I had punched the right buttons.

"That's better, you sound more like yourself now, and let's just say I've been around enough," I said with a grin. Clerpe gave me another strange and suspicious look, but really didn't know how to answer.

"Hey, if you're looking for someone who's available, try Broly. I know he's not tied to anyone," I whispered. I wasn't serious by any means, but it sounded like it would be a show to watch as long as nothing exploded, I highly doubted that he would be interested anyway. She took it seriously though.

"Me and the legend? Who are you kidding? Only in my dreams, surely he's got all kinds of women around him, why would he want me? I'm nothing but a waste of space next to him! I've barely gotten my power past old elite standards, no way would he want a weakling like me!" she pointed out.

"So, you are attracted to him then, I thought so. Maybe if you're nice, I'll put in a good word for you," I suggested as I stood up and headed for the door, getting a confused and yet hopeful feeling from her.

I found Fasha and Broly pretty quickly, the golden flashes of energy were a good hint. I didn't rise to join them just yet though, they looked intent on finishing the show they were putting on for the bystanders. Among them I spotted Nappa and Raditz, but made no effort to begin any sort of conversation. After about ten more minutes they finally stopped, seemingly satisfied and dropped down in front of me, breathing a little hard.

"I see you've rubbed off on her a bit, boy, if only the others had a fighting spirit like hers," Broly said in both pride and in spite of others around, "Now then, I believe you and I should get things wrapped up with the King before we have a real match for them to admire!"

"Yay. Another round of stories," I said.

"That and I believe you and the girl have a ceremony to get out of the way, the King has volunteered to preside over it for you," Broly said. I glanced at Fasha in question, who only turned her head away in slight disgust.

"_I take it he means the separation ceremony_," I said telepathically.

"_Yeah,"_ she said with a slight snort as she followed Broly's lead towards the castle.

"_I didn't think you would want to do it so soon,_" I pointed out.

"_I didn't, it was his suggestion that we do it now while we have the chance. In case another crisis erupted or something, I also don't want to be a distraction to you, it's your only real weakness after all. And I'm not sure I want to come back down here again anyway,"_ she thought back with a tone of sadness.

"_Why is that?"_

"_C'mon Verto, you can see it for yourself. Our people are stronger yes, but they feel defeated down here and lack the pride they once had. With no enemies to face they have become a shell of themselves. When I return to the past with the others, I will make sure that doesn't happen to our people there. Back in a time when we were feared by most of the galaxy,_" she said in defiance.

"_You're starting to sound like Vegeta with a statement like that_," I replied coolly.

"_Just anxious to see it through, it's too bad we can't do it together,_" she thought.

"_Sorry, but I don't belong there and you know it. Besides, I heard your other self hooked up with someone else,_" I said.

"_Don't bring that up, it is not your concern anymore,_" she thought back. I didn't bother to answer as we landed at the palace doors, it was probably best that I didn't. Inside were several armored guards with flags pointed inwards, making a tunnel of them leading up to the king. All of the flags were half red and half blue, but I spotted other ones equipped in their hands that were all red or all blue. King Vegeta stood up from his throne, beckoning us to come forward. I walked a bit nervously under the flags, and glanced at Fasha, who had tears in her eyes. _This is really it, it's just like a divorce I suppose. It's hard to imagine my life without her now, but this has to be done._ We stopped in front of the king with Broly walking directly behind us, but he quickly stepped off to the side as I sensed all of the guards turn to face us and the king.

"Let it be known, that this growing bond of love and passion must be broken before it was complete! That this boy and this woman shared each other's thoughts and have come to the conclusion that they shall not be one, they must not be one! They will no longer care for each other, they will not grieve for each other! They will not love each other! Only dark battles lie ahead for them, battles that they will fight separately! Let it be that these two shall walk the road of life and death separately for all eternity!" King Vegeta spoke as the guards switched their flags around. I felt anger swell up from Fasha, and our mental connection slammed shut suddenly. She turned to face me just as I turned towards her, noticing that the all red flags were pointed towards her side of the room and the blue ones were tilted towards my end. _It really is separation, in all forms, they really go all out with this stuff._ I sensed an energy spike from her and suddenly got popped with a hard fist to the face, for some reason my senses didn't see it coming. I also felt compelled to retaliate, but I didn't want to. I grumbled slightly as my fists shook a bit, managing to hold my position, but barely. I had my own wave of anger and rage overwhelm me just as suddenly as she had, almost like a built in reaction.

"You have to hit her back son," King Vegeta whispered out the side of his mouth. _Would have helped if someone had mentioned that before._ I hesitated for a few more seconds, but couldn't hold back from unloading on her own face, tears and spit flying through the air as I did. I felt very ashamed and depressed afterwards, and I sensed it from her as well. I kept it bottled up for the time being and stomped towards the exit to the castle, feeling the need to blow something up.

-

I flew out of the kingdom and gave the nearby mountains a flattening job for the next few hours. I managed to calm down and sensed Fasha at the other side of the kingdom, unleashing a similar round of distaste for the terrain. I also noticed that I couldn't sense her as easily anymore, aside from her power level and own distinctiveness, she felt just like the other Saiyans. I had always been able to pick her out from any others ever since we had bonded, and now it was like a blindfold was around her form. _Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it was like this, I should try and let this go as soon as possible. There are bigger things to worry about now. It's not as depressing at I thought it would be right now, but then again she's still technically here._ I headed back towards the palace, noting that all of the guards were back in their regular position and King Vegeta and Broly were discussing something at the throne.

"About time runt, I was beginning to think I'd have to send out a search party!" King Vegeta said in slight anger.

"Runt? Compared to me, you're like a fly on the wall, so I'd be more cautious about who you talk down to around here!" I shouted back, startling him a bit. I regretted what I said immediately, figuring I was still a bit sour about the whole separation thing.

"Sorry about that," I whispered.

"No, don't worry about formalities right now, I'm a bit surprised you came back this early really. I imagine the girl will be gone for several more hours, maybe it's your current age that took some of the sting out of the aftermath. Most Saiyans who separate actually fight it out for awhile. Anyway, I'm interested in hearing about the rest of your battles. Please don't keep me hanging any longer!" King Vegeta said, excitement pouring off of him as the guards came up and sat down all around me. _Ugh, why me?_

After another few hours of getting fresh imagination material into the heads of other Saiyans, Broly and I departed for a distant part of the barren wasteland, to work out the rest of my issues with the day so far. That and he wanted a sparring partner that he could go all out with.

"Explain something to me kid, why is it I cannot ascend to the second level Super Saiyan?" he asked when we landed. I lifted an eyebrow in response, he was the last one I expected to hear that from.

"Get real pissed off in regular Super Saiyan form I guess," I said, dropping into a stance.

"I've tried that many times and failed, even when I hold back the temptation to power up. It constantly bothers me that I cannot assume a form that Kakarot, his son and the prince have achieved. If they can do it, I can do it!" he said in pride.

"Maybe you're not strong enough or something," I said without thinking it over, but he didn't have the reaction I expected.

"Now, that is funny. Except that I'm stronger than all three of them were when they first achieved it. There is no logical reason why I should not be able to reach that level," he pointed out.

"When no logical reason presents itself, you have to take the illogical ones. Maybe it's different for everyone. Gohan did it against Cell, despite having about the same power level as Goku and I heard he didn't reach it for a while during his stay in other world. Same goes for Vegeta I'd bet," I suggested.

Broly stopped to think that one over, "You have a point there, kid, what else can you tell me? It's bad enough to not have a real fighting drive down here with nothing but shells of warriors!"

"Well, it would help if you had someone to love and protect, it's always helped me a bit. I don't mean selfishly either, I mean someone you truly love and wish to be with. Your family and friends for example, when the desire to protect them became too strong for me to control emotionally, it just sort of cracked, even though my ascended form was a little different. You never achieved Super Saiyan though, you were born with it, so I doubt you have truly climbed the mountain as we have," I explained.

"I see, I suppose I will have to look into finding a mate or something down here among the weaklings," he said, looking a bit disgusted with the idea.

"Well, may I suggest Fasha's roommate Clerpe then, she needs someone too," I suggested, despite whom I was talking to.

"What are you, matchmaker? I will decide for myself who is fit to be near me!" he shouted back while powering up to Super Saiyan, "Let's get started, all of this talk of love is making me sick!" I grinned slightly, _Same old Broly._

---

**A/n: For those who wanted to see the continued love interest between Fasha and Verto, sorry! I had this planned long ago, just a matter of time before that relationship was shot into the ground. It lasted what, three whole sagas? That's long enough! Now a word or two from the editor…**

**Daio: Clerpe and Broly, huh? Who's thinking that couple will pull through in the near future? Not sure I am, since Broly's a giant badass, and Clerpe has one. Anyway, ignoring the large woman and the large man, the breakup between Verto and Fasha - you know it would happen soon enough, right? It's a bit of a shame, though. A solid relationship broken because of impracticality. So, yeah! You'll be hearing from me now and then, giving my important opinion when it's needed; an editorial, if you will. I'll close with that.**

**Verto**: **You just love the breakups don't you? Anything else?**

**Daio: Heh - well, the battle with Kaa is bound to come up quite soon. Now, I'm sure some readers are thinking if it will be a one-man show ( meaning, Verto takes on the demon himself ) or if some classic teamwork will be pulled. I'm of the belief that it'll be the latter - for no reason other than that "going Rambo", if you will, has been done in the past, and perhaps the author of DBV feels as if a change is needed.**

**Verto: Well, I won't spoil anything, but your assessment of "going Rambo" has already proven ineffective. Here's the preview.**

**Next time on DBV: Broly finally breaks the Super Saiyan 2 barrier with some help from Verto, but has no real time to adjust to the transformation before Kaa is detected moving towards them. Verto, Broly and Fasha set out to lure him away from the Saiyan Kingdom and back towards King Yemma's palace.**

**And for those that apply: Happy Thanksgiving!  
**


	30. Kaa Returns

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don"t. I own DVD"s and tapes, but it just isn"t the same. I also don"t own the right to Diablo 2 or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 29: Kaa Returns**

Three days passed pretty quickly as I assisted Broly in training some of the other Saiyans while I was waiting for my Psi energy to recover completely. I hadn't risked exposing it since Kaa was only a few hours away, so I opted to spar with Broly at the top of my normal form, keeping my Psi mostly suppressed and only using ki against him. While he wanted to kick it up a notch several times, I declined with my reasoning, and managed to keep him happy at regular Super Saiyan form. One positive I noticed was that my power went up just a bit over those few days, the healing tank and slower recovery afterwards might have helped in that department. Thankfully I got that boost from both sources of energy, so I wouldn't have to pull a Gohan and worry about imbalances later on. I had also been staying at the palace overnight, King Vegeta had almost demanded it. Plus Fasha and I really didn't have anything to say to each other at the time, so we needed the space. I didn't want her and I to look at each other as enemies would, but found that my thoughts were doing just that by instinct. King Vegeta said that it might be like that for a few days and suggested that we simply keep away from each other. I didn't completely commit to that, as at the end of day two we got Broly and Clerpe to sit at the same table for a meal. They didn't say much to each other, but the silent stares that they gave each other probably said enough. Once we heard the growling in both of their throats, Fasha and I decided to leave and go our separate ways for the night. I didn't see either one of them for most of the third day. I had just finished sparring lightly with a few other Saiyans, when I sensed Broly coming towards me. He didn't look overly happy either as he stomped towards me. _What's eating him?_ I asked myself, backing up a step in caution.

"Damn you, brat!" he shouted, lunging at me.

"Whoa, what's wrong now?" I asked, dodging aside. He jumped into Super Saiyan form suddenly, and his power continued to build up.

"Thanks to you, I'm stuck with that low level bitch!" he shouted, launching a very strong blast towards me. It was more than powerful enough to wipe out the bystanders, so I quickly formed a Psi shield and deflected it into the sky. He flew towards me, anger filled aura and all.

"What? All I did was put you two in the same room, any feelings you had for her were not my doing!" I pointed out, gliding away and leading him away from the other Saiyans. They seemed to know to stay away by default and quickly gathered in the air and away from the ground.

"You don't get it! I didn't want to have any feelings for her or anyone else! I was the perfect warrior before all of this, I don't need these blasted emotions to hold me down! They are for the weak, and I don't want them anymore! I fucking hate them! ARGH!" he shouted as his power built even more. I recognized what he was trying to do, though I didn't think it was completely intentional. I quickly powered up and assumed my Super Mystic form, figuring I would need it if I was going to help him.

"What's wrong Broly, is the mighty legend finally realizing that he is nothing after all?" I dared to say. The look on his face wasn't one that I wanted to remember, and he attacked full on. I dodged and parried his punches easily, as he had not gone through his bulky transformation yet. I knocked him to the ground with a quick series of punches to the head, enough to stun him for a moment while I tried to figure out how to do this. Then I spotted Clerpe in the crowds of Saiyans, and I had my answer.

"Hey Broly, if you need some help, I can get rid of her for you!" I shouted, summoning my green Chi sword and swooping towards her. He tried to cut me off, but I knocked him down and drew back for the kill. Her fear-filled energy made her freeze in place and I sliced towards her head slowly. I picked up speed and chopped her in the back of the neck with my hand just after stabbing forward enough to leave a bloody burn mark on her chest, both maneuvers faster than anyone else could see. She slumped to the ground, knocked out. _Damn, hit her a little too hard, I only meant to stun her for a few seconds. _Thankfully Broly didn't know that, the reaction was almost instant as the crowd gasped. Most of them were being blown away as the dust and ki lightning filled the area, cracking the ground and shaking the nearest buildings to pieces. Broly's size increased some, but not nearly like his bulky form, and his power level rose as lightning crackled through him. I became a little concerned though about how angry he actually was even though I didn't do much damage to Clerpe at all. His power level was just about even with mine now, maybe even a little higher, and in a faster form I was probably going to have trouble until he calmed down. Luckily I didn't have to wait to long as someone brought something similar to smelling salts to Clerpe, and she sat up just as Broly was going to knock them away for being too close. Everything that had happened in the past few minutes seemed to come flowing back to him as I landed beside him, grinning slightly. He suddenly powered down to normal, apparently having it figured out as he helped Clerpe to her feet while sucking wind himself, tired from his first time in that form.

"Thanks kid, I didn't realize you were just trying to help me," he said in a low voice. _And here I expected I'd have to wear him down first, maybe it's his odd personality that counteracted it. _

"No problem, it's usually someone else trying to help me get to the next level. Sorry about the headache and the flesh wound," I said to Clerpe, charging up my hand with warm, positively charged Chi. I told her to remain still as I healed the bloody scorch mark on her chest, and finished just as quickly as I backed off and powered down.

"You can heal others as well? What can't you do?" a deep burly voice behind me asked. I turned to see Nappa and Raditz standing there, along with the rest of the crowd.

"Re-grow your hair for one, I'll let you know what else I come up with," I said with a smirk.

"Can you help us achieve the Super Saiyan form as well?" Raditz asked straight up. Several others stepped up at the same time, asking for the same thing. At first they had been unsure of me until I had sparred with Broly and shown them what I was capable of. Now they were extremely accepting, it was kind of an odd switch.

"I'm not here for that long, besides, you already have the teacher you need now that he's done it the hard way," I suggested, pointing to Broly.

"Yes, and the boy has his own issues to deal with. Your training continues tomorrow, and we will go non-stop until all of you are Super Saiyans!" he shouted. The crowd dispersed quickly, heading for all forms of housing, knowing they'd need the rest.

-

I sighed slightly as Broly and I were left alone, noticing a chilly wind in the air. _That reminds me_, I took a quick scan towards Kaa's last position, and received a bit of a shock, as he was a lot closer than he had been before. He was coming fast enough to arrive within an hour, two at the most.

Broly sensed it quickly as well, "I think its time for you and the girl to get ready to leave!" he suggested.

"Damnit, he must have locked on to me again when I powered up, he has a craving for spirits and using that kind of energy gets his attention easily I guess. We'll lure him away on the way back to King Yemma's place!" I suggested.

"If this creature was able to beat you before, then I think you'll need some help on this one since it is stronger now. You mentioned not knowing how to kill it and that conventional methods didn't work. Are you sure you'll be able to free the Kais so they can tell you how?" he asked.

"Again, I'm not sure. We did just about everything to that barrier before and nothing came of it, maybe the only way to tear it down is to take out Babidi. If you can keep Kaa busy, we can deal with Babidi and get back up to the check in station," I said.

"Sounds like a good plan, we'll intercept him on the way there," he said, lifting into the air. I sprinted towards Fasha's hut, nearly running Clerpe over on the way inside as I ducked between her large legs. The top of my hair must have grazed her because I expected a jumpy reaction, not a shuddering one.

"Whoa, watch it little guy! I wouldn't want to squash you!" she scolded once she realized what happened. I gazed up at the mountain of woman for a brief moment. _Ain't that the truth, I'd be flatter than a damn pancake in this state. I could just see the headline too, small boy squished by an aroused Saiyan that could pass for Jabba the Hutt if she was any bigger. Ah hell, there's no time for this._

"Sorry, me and Fasha need to go, now!" I said in all seriousness.

"Well, you should probably wait a bit. She's bathing and she hates being interrupted," Clerpe warned.

"Too bad. Hey! We need to go, Kaa is on his way here!" I shouted as I entered the bathroom. Fasha was in the shower and apparently didn't hear me, until I barged in that is. The smack that my face received didn't help my mood any, but it got her moving once I explained the situation. I grabbed my armor on the way out as well, wanting to be prepared for anything. Fasha grumbled a bit more about my little storm in and seeing her without clothes on, but it wasn't a first, and we didn't have the time to hash out apologies. Once she was geared up, we departed quickly, heading right for Kaa.

-

After about thirty minutes of silent flight, I opted to stop so we could finalize our plan. Broly was going to go after Kaa while Fasha and I went for Babidi. Considering I was going to be on the weak end of the power levels, I suggested that they both shoot some energy blasts at me while I absorbed the ki with my Psi sword. Well, I nearly paid for it since Broly didn't hold much back on his end, giving me more than enough power to work with as I powered up to Super Saiyan 2. Not a moment later, Kaa arrived, with Babidi on his back. He was a lot stronger than he had been before, to match up with him now I would have to be Super Mystic, and that wouldn't do me any good. I sensed a great number of different energy signatures coming from his energy, but the one that I recognized most was that of Frieza and Cell, confirming what I had been told before.

"Well now, look who's up and around already! Are you ready to meet your end now brat?" Babidi asked.

"You wish," I growled.

"My wish will be a reality shortly, as you can probably tell, my precious monster is a lot stronger than he was before! It doesn't matter how much help you have with you today, you will still be devoured!" he cackled. I scanned Kaa through and through, noting that his was even meaner looking than before, nevermind having all the energy he now possessed.

"If you think the boy is your only obstacle, then you clearly need your head examined. I believe I removed it last time we met," Broly said, stepping up in front of me and Fasha.

"You? Oh, I do remember you now. Kaa, I want you to kill the big one first. Do it slowly, make him suffer!" Babidi ordered. Kaa started laughing like an idiot and stomped towards us, his one claw out and ready to go.

"Hey, watch out for the claw! That's how he takes energy from others!" I pointed out as Broly lowered himself just a tad, ready for the attack. He quickly powered up to Super Saiyan and then past it an instant later once he got a little angry. Fasha took her power to the next level as well, and Kaa cocked his head slightly at the three ascended Saiyans standing before him.

"I remember this trick! It didn't work on Buu, and it won't work on Kaa either!" Babidi boasted.

"We'll see about that, when you are lying dead at my feet!" Broly shouted in anger, launching towards Kaa.

-

A vicious brawl between Kaa and Broly ensued as both looked to tear each other's heads off. They seemed nearly equal in power, so it made for a good match for the moment. However I sensed that Broly's energy wasn't up as high as it had been before, so I was slightly concerned that he had given me too much power beforehand. I waited until Babidi had his back turned before I went after him. He was very surprised when I picked him up from behind by his cape, choking him slightly.

"Put me down you little rat!" he shouted in vain.

"Or what? How about this - I put you down if you tell me how to kill your precious monster. That sound like a deal?" I asked, though knowing the answer.

"Forget it boy, you'll have to do worse!"

"You think I can't?" I asked as I spun him around, grasping him by the throat and holding him up so I could look him in the eye. The fear coming from Babidi's eyes said it all, he hadn't counted on me coming after him, and he didn't appear to have a plan. I watched out of the corner of my eye as Broly started bashing Kaa around, but Kaa was barely reacting. The monster was playing his game again, so I had to hurry this up.

"Okay, new deal. If you don't tell me how to kill that thing, how about I just take away your body right now!" I threatened. The nervous sweat from Babidi's forehead trickled down, he obviously didn't want to make either choice.

Fasha came up next to me, "You know, you could have given him the choice of which of us will kill him. I don't want to be left out of the loop here," she said with a tight grin. Babidi shook in slight fear as I dropped him on the ground and charged a potent golden blast in my right hand, not a foot from his face.

"Well?" I asked. I suddenly sensed several very low power levels coming in around us, and glanced up to see zombie versions of the other dead villains and heaven fighters dropping in. Babidi took his chance to run just as Pikkon flew in at me. I threw him off easily, but lost track of Babidi as a crowd landed and lurched towards me and Fasha. We began knocking them away, making sure to hit hard enough to knock each and everyone of them out. The zombies also got in Broly's way and it enabled Kaa to get more than a few good hits in on him before swiping at his leg with his claw. Fasha and I cleared out a large pack of them before proceeding to clean them off of Broly, who despite his power was getting beaten up by Kaa as the other zombies grabbed at him. I spotted Babidi in the clear, running for it and stopping once he was a good distance away from us.

"Hey, go get him! I'll handle these guys!" I said to Fasha. She charged Babidi, whose eyes lit up like a deer caught in the headlights. Then he suddenly smiled and his hands up just as his small energy emerged.

"Time to put you with my other prisoners, paparapapa!" he shouted as Fasha suddenly vanished. _Son of a bitch, shoulda known he'd do something like that! What a cheap talent to use in a battle!_

"Coward!" I shouted as I knocked Zombies off of Broly.

"It doesn't matter how you get the job done if you succeed. You're running out of time brat! Now it's your turn to make a choice! Try and kill me, or help your friend, he looks a little tired!" Babidi screeched. I glanced towards Broly, who did indeed look a little on the tired side. _Ah hell, he must be tired because he ascended not to long ago and that first transformation must have exhausted him since he's not used to it, nevermind a 2nd time before he could recover. We never sparred so he could get used to it. Damnit, we need to blast Kaa away from us and make a run for it!_ I charged towards Kaa and kicked him straight in the head as hard as I could from his blindside, sending him bouncing across the ground for a moment.

"Broly! Blast on three! One, Two…" I started, bringing my arms back to charge a big ki blast. Broly got the message quickly and mirrored my posture. Kaa slowly stirred and got up, but not fast enough to see what was coming.

"Three!" Our combined blast scorched the ground before taking Kaa into the distance with it. I sensed him recovering pretty quickly, despite quite a strong blast being used on him.

"Come on, let's go!" I shouted, seeing Broly was weakening even more now. He nodded as he dropped down to Super level 1, and we both took off full speed in the opposite direction of the Saiyan kingdom.

**Power levels:**

**Verto (healed): 302,000,000: Super Mystic: 604,000,000; Super Saiyan 2: 477,000,000**

**Broly: 125,000,000; Super Saiyan 1: 370,000,000; Super Saiyan 2: 610,000,000; weakened: 575,000,000 (drops)**

**Kaa: 650,000,000**

**A/n: Ya'll are probably hating me for not drawing out the Broly/Verto standoff and the Broly/Kaa battle a little more. Too bad, there isn't a point in doing a repeat of the Friezell/Kaa fight. Don't worry though, your sadistic appetites will be satisfied soon enough.**


	31. Help Arrives

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Diablo 2 or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 30: Help Arrives**

It didn't take very long for Kaa to start trailing us, but we had a good two to three minute lead on him on the way back to King Yemma's place. I had burned up the rest of my extra ki just from flying so fast and was now going on my regular power, which I found could handle flight a little better.

"What do you intend to do to get back up to the check-in station?" Broly asked, gasping for air just a bit.

"Hope to hell that my contact wasn't compromised," I said, looking around the landscape. It now looked familiar enough as we passed the canyon I had hid in before, and the destroyed mountains nearby.

"It shouldn't be too much further up here, we fought in this area the first time," I said, slowing down a bit and turning towards my right. My senses spiked suddenly as I sensed Kaa approaching quickly.

"Damn, you had better hurry up and find the way up there," Broly suggested, stopping in midair.

"Whoa, hold on, you should come with me. He'll run you through in your current state, and it'll just add to his power!" I pointed out as I flew up beside him.

"Tell me, what way would you prefer to handle this? Take a chance now and hope you can find a way to beat him, or just be part of that thing's appetite by fighting him down here? I refuse to run any longer! I doubt you'll get up to snake way without drawing his attention, so I will distract the beast in the only way I know how, battle to the death!" he said in defiance. _Argh, shoulda known Broly would take the suicidal path._

"Fine, but at least give me the time I need. Nothing fancy!" I said, slightly disgusted that I would be forced into leaving another ally behind like this. _This really sucks that I have to run away before I really try anything against that freak of nature. If only something actually worked on that son of a bitch._

"Something else, if we should all make it through this, don't wish me back to life when its time to go back. I want to stay with my people and I think I've killed off enough of the universe that I don't deserve a second chance!" he said.

"If that's what you want," I said, slightly flustered at this.

"It is - GO!" he shouted. I took off just as Broly started concentrating the rest of his energy into something. His power shot up suddenly, but it didn't feel like he was trying to ascend again. I recognized the feeling of his bulky form a moment later, knowing that even without his speed, he would likely stall Kaa long enough for me to get out of Hell. I blazed across the lands, looking and scanning for any sign of Arqua. I didn't sense anything, but I did see a lot of bodies lying in the dirt, all of them with severe stab wounds. _Man, I hope those zombie things can't telepathically communicate with Kaa or something, that would suck right now. _I sensed Kaa and Broly clash suddenly, and Broly's power level began to drop steadily with every sonic boom. _Damnit, he's not going to play around this time._ Suddenly I spotted a blue pond in the near by mountains. I raced up to it, seeing it was indeed water in a land that was mostly void of it, at least on the surface. _This must be where the secret exit is, but where?_ I saw no caves or any other landmarks that would represent anything other than dead lands.

"ARQUA?!" I shouted, hoping to get an answer I as floated around, scanning everywhere. I came to directly above the pool, sensing that was indeed made of Chi energy, but there was no sign of its maker. _It would have disappeared if Kaa had gotten him, or at least I think it would have, so he must have gotten out._ I suddenly detected some sort of distortion directly ahead in the air. It was very hard to see, but I could make out that the energy pattern of the air was a little different. I reached out to touch it, and my hand went through and vanished. I still felt it on the other side, but I couldn't see it or even sense it. I pulled my hand back, seeing it was fine, and then floated into the distortion. The scenery around me changed, and the yellow clouds were suddenly below me, though not by much. Ahead I spotted some sort of rusty looking machine that had been shut down, it looked like some sort of processing device. _Must be the spirit cleanser, looks like it needs replaced._ There were a few tanks lying around filled with purple goo, but most of them were empty. I scanned the goo and noticed an incredibly evil feeling from them. _Well, that is certainly what Janemba got his power from._ I spotted a staircase nearby and rushed towards it, running upwards quickly.

-

I quickly reached the top, seeing I was on snake way on the far side of the palace, almost running into the shell that surrounded it. I sensed multiple power signals from all around, most of them ogres, but some were stronger. I also frowned when I noticed that one of them felt partially Saiyan and the other human. I sensed Arqua on the other side and flew up and around the whole thing, seeing the shell was still very much intact. I spotted him with Videl and the new girl Lenz among a few ogres and otherworlders, discussing something. That ended when I landed, scaring a few of them.

"Verto, you're back? But where are the others?" Videl asked straight up.

"No time to explain! We need to bust this thing open now!" I said. I quickly located Kaa's large power level coming near where I had exited, and I didn't sense Broly. _Shit, that was quick, so much for the legend being the strongest ever. _

"Holy crap! What's that huge power I sense?" Videl asked now. Others felt it too, and were backing away.

"That is the main problem that I've been trying to deal with, you guys get away from here. This creature will suck the life out of you," I said in a slightly cryptic voice to get them moving.

"Are you saying it's stronger than you, or Gohan? Or even Frost?" Lenz asked.

I looked at her, slightly annoyed at that question, "Yes, it is. Now get going!" Videl tugged her uniform to help motivate her to start moving while I starred down the hard shell. _Okay, time to try and see if this barrier can take everything I throw at it, I seriously doubt Babidi or Kaa will take it down on purpose, even under threat._ I quickly powered up to Super Mystic, sensing Kaa's signal go crazy in trying to find me. He was almost directly below, flying in circles and rather close to the exit, but apparently he hadn't found it yet.

"Alright, let's see how you deal with this!" I shouted, getting the rest of the bystanders to back off as I released a lot of my Chi energy. I was going to blast it, but changed my mind and scattered it into the air, surrounding the shell before channeling the energy field together at different points. I lifted my hands and added more power before moving the field around quickly and then sent it screaming down to the shell. The green lightning split upon impact all over the shell, bouncing off of it and gently rolling into the air. I quickly shifted my thoughts to a darker emotion as I released more energy, hoping that I could at least weaken it by doing so. Nothing happened, and I tried the other end of the spectrum with slightly positive thoughts. Again nothing happened, and I gave in slightly, pulling whatever energy was left back to me.

"What is that thing made of?" Videl asked from behind.

"I thought I told you two to get out of here?" I growled slightly, sensing both her and Lenz lingering around. Videl was more interested in the shell, however Lenz was busy staring at me with wide eyes.

"And what's wrong with you?" I asked.

"I saw Gohan use that form against Frost, but you look like someone I know," she said. I quickly lost my patience as she was not making any sense, and she was making useless conversation at a very bad time.

"Yeah. I know I look like Gohan - we've been through that if you recall," I replied, trying to calm myself while tracking Kaa. He was still circling below, confused as to how to get out of Hell apparently.

"Actually, you look a lot like my cute little brother back on Rotaria, he had silver colored hair too!" she said cheerfully. I gave her the look one would give when a very pointless subject comes up at a very bad time.

"Look, I don't think it matters a whole lot if I look like someone you know or not. This is not the fucking time for it! NOW GET MOVING!" I shouted a little louder, scaring her into running the other way. Videl shook her head slightly at my sudden change of tone before heading in the same direction. I suddenly sensed a low, but concentrated energy pattern about thirty feet or so in front of me, directly in front of the shell. It quickly multiplied many times as a blue light shimmered and a large green figure materialized along with a much smaller brown figure. I stared Kaa and Babidi down as the blue light faded, drawing a laugh from the wizard.

-

"So this is where you ran off to. As you have probably noticed by now, there is no getting through my magic barrier. Now then, I believe Kaa wants to dine on your energy," Babidi laughed as the demon stalked forward. _Crap, I have to stay at Super Mystic just to stay away from him while I come up with a plan. I had better be careful and only strike when necessary, he could easily keep up with me now and all my attacks will add to his power._ Kaa stalked forward and I jumped into the air, intent on staying away from him at all times. He followed as I floated away from the other bystanders, a very hungry look in his eye. I picked up speed and circled the palace slowly, and he followed every step of the way. I sensed his energy level dropping, his lack of real concentration skills or knowledge of his own potential seemed to drain his energy quicker than most warriors. _Great, just have to play a game of tag until he wears himself down._ So the game began, and I flew around in erratic patterns as he followed full speed. I managed to dodge his initially faster movements with quick anticipation until his power leveled off and he had to slow down.

After seven to ten minutes of this, I managed to get his power level back down around my own. _Man, this is gonna take forever, but its better than trying the book of attacks on him and letting him gain more strength. I'll just wait for him to weaken just enough to knock him into Hell and go after Babidi, but the timing must be flawless._ I heard Babidi squawking at him to finish the job, but Kaa generally ignored him, apparently his appetite for spirit energy was getting the better of him. He started firing ki blasts at me a few moments later, easily deflected ones though, and it dropped his power even quicker. _Stupid bastard is making this easy for me, oh well, I won't complain._

Another five minutes passed as Kaa kept his chase and kept blasting at me, and his power dwindled until he was almost half of my power now. _Hell of a weakness, he must have to take more souls to keep his power going._ Then I recalled something Broly told me, that he somehow powered back up after weakening against Friezell, and that he couldn't sense anyone else around at the time. I stopped in mid air as I remembered his speech, and glanced back at Kaa. He looked a bit frustrated that he couldn't catch me, but then he stopped and assumed a power up type of stance. I sensed tiny amounts of Psi energy funneling in from all directions, and especially from Hell. All of it flowed into Kaa just as his ki level started to rise. _No fucking way, he can continually take energy from his victims? _Kaa's power erupted as if he had been holding back, and it quickly soared to my level and beyond, back to where it was a little while ago.

I dropped to the ground near the shell, shaking a bit with slight fear. _How the hell am I going to wear him out when he can do that? No wonder he doesn't completely kill off his victims, they are part of his power supply. And I can't just go kill off his zombie squad, that wouldn't be right._ I was so distracted by this sudden turn of events that I didn't dodge out of the way when Kaa came in, punching my across the jaw harshly. I bounced off the shell and fell to a knee, wiping the blood from my chin as I saw the tip of his claw not a foot away. _Shit, cornered._ Babidi started to laugh and walked closer with no fear, as I was pinned. I considered trying to move as fast as possible, but figured since he had gotten his power back, he could probably catch me the instant I budged. Babidi stepped forward until he was well within arms reach, with a look on his face that said he was ready to rub it in.

"Looks like I finally have you now, brat! Where are you going to run to now? Where are all your allies? Oh, that's right, Kaa has defeated all of them!" he cackled.

"Put a sock in it, I don't need this banter from a chicken shit who hides behind his warriors. At least I can respect them for having a pair! You are a coward of the worst kind!" I spat at him.

"Careful now, I was going to spare your life," Babidi hinted.

"In exchange for what?" I asked, knowing there would be a price here.

"Your services of course, you would be an excellent right-hand man to go along with my killing machine here. Of course you would have to give yourself over willingly," he said, tugging on one of his whiskers. _Yeah right, like I would do that._

"That would be the day, shithead! Go to hell!" I answered.

"Been there, done that. Fine then, Kaa, you may kill him now! But do it slowly, I want to watch him suffer!" Babidi said, turning on his heel and looking the other way. Kaa reared back with his claw, more than close enough to end my struggle. I noticed Babidi hadn't moved as I watched the claw, and I quickly acted on it. Kaa swung forward just as I grabbed Babidi by his cape. He gasped as I quickly pulled him into the claw's path. Blood splattered all over my face just as the tip of the claw punctured through Babidi's back, stopping not four inches from my face.

"You - insolent - fool!" he shouted in between coughs. Kaa grinned slightly and absorbed Babidi's energy, barely getting any sort of power boost out of it. I quickly flew out of the line of fire as he tossed Babidi's corpse into the yellow clouds and down to hell. _Well, I got the wizard out of the way, but the barrier is still up!_ I scanned it, noticing that it had suddenly changed to a darker brown color, and I detected a crack along the topside. I quickly released a large blast in hopes that it would work this time. The top of the shell blew up, and took the tower part of King Yemma's palace as well, leaving many surprised figures inside.

-

Kibitoshin was the first one to fly out of the palace, "Verto, you freed us! Good work!"

I felt angry that he went to the obvious rather than getting to the point, "Enough of that. Tell me how to beat this thing!" I shouted.

"Well, that's slightly complicated," he began. I growled a bit in response, prompting him to continue. "You see, only a living warrior can defeat him. Only pure living energy can get rid of that special demon skin of his, and then he will be vulnerable. We will need someone who is stronger than him in the living realm," he explained. I quickly realized why no one else could kill him before, the Kai's energy was partially spiritual in nature, so they couldn't do it, and everyone else up here was dead.

"Well, then get a move on, go get Goku and Vegeta!" I shouted.

"And Gohan too I assume. I don't think Goku and Vegeta alone will do the job, do you?" he asked.

"Argh, no, dumbass! Gohan's power might add to his before it did any good! Get Goku and Vegeta so we can get them to do a fusion!" I growled angrily.

"Oh, right. I need to check on their position, they should be back in our galaxy by now!" he replied in a nervous voice.

"Alright, step on it. I'll hold ugly off!" I said, flying a bit closer to Kaa. Kaa himself hadn't moved for a few moments, apparently still savoring Babidi's energy, but he was also examining what was left of the shell.

"Found them, they're back on Earth already! I'll be right back!" Kibito promised, vanishing into thin air. Kaa smashed the part of the barrier in front of him, causing part of it to slide off and collapse. He grinned when he saw more potential victims inside, lifting his claw arm as he stomped forward. I drew my Chi sword in response. This had to stop before he got any stronger. I swept towards him, but missed when he dodged aside, my power signal had probably given my position away long ago and he had been watching it. He grabbed the back of my armor plate and lifted me up to stare me in the eye, his claw ready to drive through me like a stake. I resisted the urge to blast him back right there, knowing it wouldn't do any good. A powerful ki blast hit him from behind however and he dropped me. He glanced back to see Fasha standing there, arm outstretched and smoking.

"You're not taking us down - not like that!" she said. I glanced up to see Kaa growl a bit and turn completely towards her, and I rushed at him.

"Big mistake!" I shouted, powering up my sword. He turned back just in time to see me slice right through his claw, severing it completely before I kicked it off of the path and into the abyss. His angry growl was music to my ears, but his attacks were nails on a chalkboard by comparison. I dispersed my sword just as he attacked, letting my ribs have major attention before I could even react. I sensed his demon skin take some energy from me with every blow, and allowed myself to lose the Super Mystic form. Once he bashed me away and my hair was black again, I buried my Psi energy so deep he would have to tear my insides out just to find it again. Judging by the look on his face, he didn't mind doing that. Fasha came up behind and kicked him in the back of the head, barely making him react. She groaned when he suddenly backhanded her in the gut, sending her flying.

"Argh, damn you!" I shouted as I spit out some blood that had welled up inside my mouth. He stomped towards me again and I backed up against the wall in slight fear, knowing his next hit just might tear my head off. I suddenly felt a hand touch my shoulder and the scenery blacked out for a moment before the urge to throw up hit. I saw myself floating in mid air far above the palace a moment later, feeling a strong hand holding me up.

"I see you found yourself a good fight while you've been gone! Mind if we take over from here?" Goku said with two fingers coming away from his head.

-

"So, this is the big bad monster you've been fighting up here lately. Doesn't look like much," Vegeta said, giving Kaa the look over.

"You'd be surprised, he's plowed through just about everyone who has stepped up to him. Fasha and I are the only ones so far that have gotten away. Even Broly couldn't take him," I explained.

"Well he's certainly strong enough, but his power feels very strange. What kind of creature is he anyway?" Goku asked.

"His name is Kaa, apparently he used to be some demon fighter that Babidi's father employed at one point before Buu came along. The Kai's used him for some form of torture down in hell but sealed him away or something and Babidi revived him. And he used to be weaker. A few days ago he couldn't hold a candle to my full power, but that changed rapidly. He can absorb my Psi energy, and thus all attacks that contain it are ineffective. His demon skin protects him from most attacks and absorbs all kinds of spiritual energy, except ki. He also can absorb actual spirits, or at least their energy, with his claws. Luckily I removed both of them and he can't seem to grow them back, but it wouldn't surprise me if he could. Kibitoshin just told me that the only way to beat him was pure ki attacks from a stronger living warrior, that it should cancel out the effect of his magic skin or something," I explained further.

"Well, between the four of us, we should be able to wear him down," Goku suggested, powering up slightly.

"Hold on, wearing him down in a long battle doesn't work, it's been tried several times. He can recharge himself by taking more energy from his victims at any time. I just said that we need a stronger, living warrior - I think you know what I mean by that," I said. Vegeta's scowl was immediate, and Goku looked slightly amused.

"He's got a point Vegeta, that thing is considerably stronger than you or I separately," he said.

"Argh...! I know what he meant! You can forget it, I came here for a fight, not to dance!" he growled. _Great, Saiyan pride mode has just kicked in, just when we didn't need it._ I glanced down at Kaa, who was watching us with interest.

"This isn't the best time for the bickering, can you two just fuse and get it over with?" I asked.

"N - O!" Vegeta stubbornly declared. As glad as I was to see them at a time like this, my lightened mood didn't hold.

"Do you know what I've had to deal with when it comes to this thing? Imagine trying your very best and he just keeps coming back as if he's immortal. Then, when I do need help, he plows over the other fighters and takes their spirits and turns them into fucking zombies. Then to discover that your attacks are only feeding him, making him stronger, so you have to fight on a weaker level, and then that doesn't do anything! He left a big ass scar on me from that claw, and as I understand, I nearly became a zombie myself. Then I have to split off from the one I loved so much just so the timelines wouldn't be screwed up and so I can fight without distractions. Okay, I can get over all of that. But now that I finally have a chance to beat this thing, I ask you for help, someone who has mentored and guided me through this stage of my life. I've gone through too much shit to have you screw up this opportunity with your damn pride, and if I recall, I'm the one who took down the past few villains that you couldn't handle. I made it through the hell I've been put through, you could at least put up with a minor pose if it means the win. If you're not going to help, then go back to Earth and I'll find someone else more worthy of our time!" I spoke in anger.

Vegeta's eyes widened as my speech rang through his head a little bit. I glanced down before turning away, I hadn't meant everything I had said, but it had been itching to get out and his problem with pride at critical moments was the spilling point. Goku looked more than a little surprised that I had said that, and I myself expected an angry lash out at any moment. Vegeta did indeed feel like he was going to blow up at any moment, but then he suddenly relaxed. I turned back to look him in the eye, only to be met with a wry smile.

"I suppose I never could argue with your damn reasoning. All right, Kakarot...! Let's do this and get it over with!" he said in a much calmer tone. I shook my head slightly, _funny how a nice little kick in the teeth snaps him out of it._ They dropped to the ground several feet apart and began the dance while Kaa looked on.

"Fu - sion...HA!" A bright golden light blinded everyone around as they merged into one super being. The light dispersed into a very large flowing aura that seemed to fill the area around him out to about twenty feet away. His power soared into heights that I hadn't felt since Vegito's Super Saiyan 3, and he was only near level two at the most. Upon feeling that, I knew Kaa was screwed.

"Prepare to die!" Gogeta shouted.

**Power levels:**

**Verto: 302,000,000; Super Mystic: 604,000,000**

**Broly (weakened Super Saiyan): 280,000,000; Ultra form: 530,000,000**

**Kaa: 650,000,000; after taking Broly's soul: 700,000,000**

**Fasha (SS2): 390,000,000**

**Gogeta: BIG ( Daio: **Hahaha, you get it? The author listed several giant-ass power levels, and when Gogeta's came up, he said "BIG"! Hahaha! ...Fine, don't laugh.

**A/n: I'll bet you readers were wondering when Gogeta would finally show up, and yes, his power level is probably BIG, thus why I didn't throw in a number since nothing happened yet, genius. Were you expecting him now, maybe, maybe not. Well, there he is. Does he have the power to beat Kaa? Probably. Will things pan out exactly as everyone expects? Probably… not.**


	32. The End of Kaa

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Diablo 2 or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 31: The End of Kaa**

Gogeta barely wasted a moment and charged Kaa, who looked eager for his next opponent. He was blown down from a multi-hit combo that was much too fast to see. I wasn't even sure if it hadn't actually been Gogeta's energy that overwhelmed him, but then he got up, sporting several dents in his chest. Gogeta punched him harshly the instant he was up, and then let him have a roundhouse kick right in the chops. His head turned halfway around as he fell backwards. As he gathered himself, Gogeta had a blast waiting with his name on it. The energy coming from the small blast was incredible to say the least, and he seemed to let Kaa get up so he could see his own death coming. Kaa responded by trying to powerup, but didn't come close to the fused Super Saiyan in terms of power. Gogeta suddenly reduced the amount of power in his hand once Kaa had topped out, and I really wasn't sure why. He fired and hit Kaa dead on, lighting up the area with a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, I sensed and then saw Kaa slowly recovering, but far from easily.

I scowled immediately, "Why did you hold back?"

"For a good reason that you will understand soon," he said simply. It was by no means a cocky remark, thus throwing out the idea that maybe the fusion had skewed his judgment like much it had with Vegito. Kaa was extremely rattled and his ki level had taken a plunge. That's when I noticed bones and muscles sticking out on various parts of his body, the green skin was missing. Kaa shouted out a battle cry and charged Gogeta slowly, missing badly on a punch and paying for it when he was kicked sharply in the head. Another strong blast followed him to the ground, and he got up missing even more of his skin. Gogeta held up one finger and started taking pop-shots once Kaa was up. Kaa blocked against the potent energy blasts, but was unable to do anything when they hit whatever skin was still intact. Soon he was nothing but a skeleton with bloody muscles and ligaments clinging to his bones. I even saw his heart beating, very slowly that is. Gogeta stopped once the green skin was off, apparently hesitating for a moment. Kaa dropped into a power up stance and started to regain some power from his victims just like before.

Gogeta glanced back at me, "It's up to you now!" _Up to me, you're the one that is owning him. Oh of course, now that the demon skin is gone I can use anything I want on him. He must mean I need to nail him while he's powering up to reverse the effect. That explains why he's been holding back._ I grinned and nodded, charging up a white Psi blast. Kaa glanced upwards just as he finished his power up, his eyes locked on me.

"Take this you. Feedback!" I shouted, throwing the small bomb and guiding it like a missile. Kaa didn't look quite as eager to stand up to this one, but he likely sensed that there wasn't that much energy behind it either. It struck and lit him up like a Christmas tree. An erratic blue-white aura sprang up as he grabbed his head, and then it started shooting off random energy shots into the air before they vanished into the clouds and down to hell. I instantly sensed the zombies below return to normal as they regained their minds and spirits. Kaa continued to scream as his power level plummeted and more spirits were released, until he finally bottomed out as the feedback effect ran dry.

"It's done, all of his victims are now returning to normal, he has lost," Gogeta said as I walked up with him to Kaa's fallen form. I cringed and growled slightly, powering up a finishing blast in my hand.

Gogeta stepped in front of me to stop the attack, "No son, there is no honor or justice in taking revenge on one who is defeated. This demon can no longer carry out his plans, we have beaten him!" I scowled deeply and powered down my blast, he was right and I didn't need to sink to that level. I glanced down and saw that Kaa had a beginning of a claw growing on his left arm, the one I had chopped off first.

"We can't let him recover though, he can take souls again if he gets his claws back!" I pointed out.

"I'm sure the Kais have a method of containing a demon like this," Gogeta suggested, glancing towards them.

"And there we have the problem, Babidi released that demon from a sealed dungeon. It happened once and it can happen again. I would hate to ask you to commit murder Goku, but this creature must not be allowed to live on. Destroy it while you have the chance!" Kibitoshin suggested as he landed. Gogeta glanced at him with a frown before turning back to Kaa. Kaa had finally gotten some of his bearings back and was walking towards us slowly, trying to hold an arm and shoulder together. He pushed hard and it popped back into place and he grinned slightly, looking much more sinister now that he didn't have a face. His left claw extended outwards about six inches and he ran towards us full sprint.

"You may want to step back," Gogeta said suddenly as his aura flashed into view. I floated backwards a bit, almost being pushed by Gogeta's sudden powerup. He stretched out both hands, overloading them with energy as a bright blue ball appeared before him. Kaa ran straight into the attack that ended his existence.

"BIG BANG KAMEHAMEHA!" The ball changed into a violent rush of blue ki, all directed at Kaa. I cannot describe the explosion that followed as I was forced to close my eyes and cover my face, but I was very surprised to see that snake way had stayed intact in its aftermath. I could barely measure the power output from it, but it made me feel pretty pathetic. There was nothing left of Kaa when it cleared, and I let out a sigh of relief in knowing that nightmare was over.

-

Several minutes passed before anyone said or did anything, though witnessing such an incredible display of raw power will do that to you. Gogeta stood still and held his gaze on the dust that was scattered and blowing around on snake way, almost as if giving his respects to a fallen warrior. I didn't share his sense of honor in that department, he hadn't been around for the entire show. He emitted a bright light suddenly before it separated into two bright lights, reforming themselves into Goku and Vegeta.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Goku asked.

"Humph, for once your fusion wasn't a complete waste," Vegeta grunted as they walked towards me and Kibitoshin.

"Thanks for the help," I said with a grin.

"You must attract strange creatures like the plague, boy! I heard the last one was a real pain and that you actually had to rely on Frieza and Cell to give you a hand. How desperate can a Saiyan like you get?" Vegeta asked with his own smirk. What it really meant is he wanted the details, much like his father.

"Something like that, let's just say I beat him with a technique that between the three of us only Goku and I can do," I said, hinting at what I had learned lately.

"Oh please, anything Kakarot can do, I can do. Must I prove this to you? What is it, that worthless Kaioken attack? Or that cowardly teleportation?" Vegeta asked with pride.

"Neither, and I'm pretty sure you can't hit me a Spirit Bomb!" I dared. Vegeta's eyes looked like they had glazed over for a second as he jaw slipped. He recovered quickly and turned the other way, grumbling.

"You know how to do a spirit bomb now? Awesome!" Goku said with glee, increasing the frown on Vegeta's face.

"Well, I'm learning some other new stuff, I'll be happy to spar you when you guys wish me back to Earth. So I guess I'll see you in about five months," I said.

"Yeah, we probably should get back now that the crises is over, Chichi won't be happy if I'm late for dinner!" Goku said with a face of slight dread.

"Hey, hold on, how's Gohan doing?" Videl shouted as she and Lenz ran up.

"Gohan's been slightly sick lately, probably just nerves from being away from home for so long. He was feeling better once we teleported back to Earth. And who are you?" Goku asked, giving Lenz the look over. Vegeta was glaring a hole right through her, and she shuddered slightly as she bowed.

"I take it you are the Rotian girl?" Vegeta asked as Lenz quickly nodded, her purple hair dripping in jittery sweat.

"Hmph, you'll likely fit in fine on Earth. All right then, here's your opportunity to get your life back. Achieve the level of Super Saiyan, and I might think about allowing you to stay on Earth, we may need your information and skills in time. I suggest you train her hard, boy!" Vegeta said as he turned to me.

"What about my people?" Lenz asked.

Vegeta glanced at Kibito and momentarily paused, "They will be taken care of. "Let's go Kakarot!" Vegeta said as he vanished along with Goku. _What was that all about? _I scowled slightly, he had not only been unusually vague, but he had also just given me something to do other than my own training for the next five months.

"I see he is as moody as ever," Old Kai said from behind.

"Yeah, never changes," I muttered.

"So you're going to train me?" Lenz asked, sounding quite surprised.

"Looks like it," I said, not pleased about the whole thing.

"No offense, but your half my age and half my height. It will look ridiculous being trained by someone who just got out of diapers! I wasn't kidding when I said you looked like my little brother, only I'd say you're even shorter!" she whined.

I growled a bit in response, "Oh yeah? You look like a slut who's been around the block about half a million times!" I fired back.

"Why you little…" she began.

"Now now, that's enough children, no need to be vulgar! Verto, we need you to come with us for a little while, everyone else may get back to his or her place, as I'm sure King Yemma has paperwork to do by now," Old Kai said, looking amused as I heard Yemma pounding his desk not far away.

"Okay, what do you need to warn me about now?" I asked, recognizing a pattern.

"Just a few things to iron out, nothing major," Old Kai said as Kibitoshin grabbed both our shoulders.

-

Once on the Supreme Kai's world, Kibito teleported away once again, mentioning that he needed to help in the cleanup effort and to get everyone back to where they needed to be. Old Kai suggested I take a seat on the ground, though I chose to remain standing as he paced for a moment.

"So what do you want to tell me?" I asked, getting impatient quickly.

"You should be nicer to that girl Lenz, she hasn't had an easy life you know!" he said.

"Yeah, I've heard the story with her people and Frost, I understand that. I haven't exactly had much fun lately either. However, if she thinks that I'm just going to take her bullshit, then she had better think again. She's lucky that I'm not Vegeta, otherwise she would be dust by now," I said, crossing my arms.

"Well, that's not all of it. She has a very strange energy signature and there is certainly something about her she hasn't mentioned yet," Old Kai pointed out.

"And what do you suppose that is?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, but her energy signature, or at least the one we are sensing, is similar to your own," he said, unsure as he stared at the ground and paused for a moment.

He snapped out of it once I stomped the ground once and left cracks, "Well, are you going to spill the beans or not?"

"We aren't sure what this means, therefore we have nothing to tell you. The only similarity you two should have is the Saiyan thing," he explained briefly.

"That doesn't help me any, should I be extremely concerned about this or what? I didn't really notice much when we first met, granted I was also exhausted at the time," I said.

"Judging by her current power and attitude, I would say no. Perhaps it is nothing after all, but it is extremely hard for me to figure out her puzzle," he said, scratching his chin.

"You probably can't figure her out because you were too busy drooling," I noted with a slight smirk. The red that appeared on his decrepit face confirmed that.

"Well, what's the fun in being immortal if you can't take a peek once in awhile?" he asked with a nervous grin.

"Back to the point, why can't you just read her mind or something?" I asked, refocusing my glare.

"I tried that, there was nothing out of place there either," he said, looking stumped.

"Well I would guess then that you are worried about nothing," I replied.

"Maybe so, but in my line of work you must be cautious about everything!" he exclaimed.

"You actually work when you're not interfering with our lives? I'd pay to see that," I chuckled.

"Argh, speaking of work, I want you to go ahead and train the girl and see if she has the same potential as yourself," Old Kai ordered.

"I've already sensed her potential, it isn't there," I said.

"I recall a small brat doubting himself not long ago, power is only hidden until its time to unleash it. The girl is strong willed, but has much to learn. While taking to your own studies and training, it will give you something to do. I also highly doubt that she is as unique as you, but I imagine you can get another Super Saiyan to emerge before you head back to Earth with the others. Watch over her as teacher would a student," Old Kai said with a beaming grin.

I rolled my eyes slightly, "All right, I suppose I can put up with her for that long. But once we're wished back to life, she's on her own!"

"We'll see if you still feel that way then. Think of it as a way to get to know her and to help yourself grow as a warrior. They say that the final lesson is teaching another," Old Kai said as he opened his comic again.

"Something is bugging me though, when Lenz asked about her people, she wasn't given a straight answer. What is up with that?" I asked.

Old Kai paused notably just like Vegeta had done, "Do not concern yourself with them for now. Vegeta simply wants to wait until Frost's forces have moved out of the area before they wish back that planet. We could move them to an entirely new planet, or even Earth, but that would be interfering with other cultures far more than necessary. By the way, now that you and Fasha are separated, we will be sealing her in stasis along with the other Saiyans," he said, attempting to dodge the rest of his answer.

"May I ask why?" I asked, somewhat satisfied with his explanation.

"Certainly. While they are here, they run the risk of further damage to this reality as well as their own. That is why we planned on locking them all into stasis until it was time for them to return to their dimension. We have had very close shaves with paradoxes already and don't need anymore of them sprouting up. They can be quite messy as you can imagine. As for why now, she requested it on her own. I guess she wanted to pass the time faster, not really sure about that, women can be strange sometimes," he explained. _Trust me, I know all about that. She must want to make this split official and give me the time to adjust to it. I certainly won't get used to the idea with her around._

"Whatever the reason, Kibito is taking care of that right now, as well as getting Pikkon and the others out of hell and to a medical facility. This Kaa creature certainly could have caused more damage. I must say I am impressed with how you handled that beast," Old Kai said with pride.

"Yeah, I was running away half the damn time, really impressive," I said, dripping with sarcasm.

"And it helped you win in the long run. I don't necessarily mean all of your actions. You rushed into it a little fast despite the warnings from Dabura, but you adjusted when things didn't go your way, and you showed signs of being a team leader out there when things were at their toughest. You knew you needed help from Goku and Vegeta and took steps to contact them. Try not to dwell on your shortcomings, not many would have faired so well against Kaa, including us Kais. While I disagree with retreating to the Saiyan Kingdom, it worked out for the best, and it doesn't seem you had any other choice at the time. Your power has gone up a bit, and you eventually defeated the monster without making any of the mistakes you made previously, that is a admirable accomplishment!" he said, trying to make light of the past few days.

"Yeah I suppose your right," I replied.

"Now then, you should concentrate on improving your skills both mentally and physically during the rest of your stay. I doubt there is much more Dabura or anyone else can teach you right now," he said as he knelt down beside a teakettle that was steaming. I wrinkled my nose slightly as I nodded, getting a fresh whiff of that horrible smelling tea that he was drinking.

"You may train as you like until Kibito gets back," he said, pulling out a comic book. I stared at him hard for a few minutes before he finally looked back up. "What is it?" he asked.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" I asked carefully.

He hesitated for a few seconds, "Nothing that would be, prudent at this time!" he quickly said before plunging his nose into the comic.

"_Translation: I can't tell you",_ I thought towards him purposefully. Old Kai never answered that one aside from a slight nervous sweat trickling down the side of his face.

**Power levels:**

**Previous levels remain the same.**

**Gogeta (SS2): 950,000,000**

**Next time: You will press the button that takes you to the next chapter, and you will find out on your own.**


	33. Suspension

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Diablo 2 or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 32: Suspension**

I kept to strict meditation while waiting on Kibitoshin to reappear. I hadn't had any time to do so ever since Dabura's first round of training, so I was a bit overdue. I also noticed that my concentration of energy needed some retuning. I had mastered ki long ago and Psi shortly after splitting from the Zerg, but I still wasn't quite used to the sacred Chi energy. My techniques and attacks were certainly strong enough, but I used far too much energy when executing them. The only time it didn't completely drain me was when I used the energy fusion moves like the Shock Cannon or the Spirit Beam Cannon, since I wasn't channeling pure Chi at the time. I recognized the problem though, I just needed more time to adjust. I had that problem before during my basic training, even when I achieved the Super Saiyan. Vegeta wasn't as much into meditation as Piccolo was, therefore I was quite thankful that I had two styles to learn from. And it took me almost five months to adjust to Psi once I had unlocked it, with most of that coming in the final month before the showdown on Auir. That left me with virtually no real training in with Chi energy past the battle situations. My time in the afterlife so far had been helpful, but not to a point I would have preferred. I felt that with my current power and ability, I should be able to withstand villains like Janemba and Kaa everyday of the week and twice on Sunday, despite their overwhelming power. My body was used to it enough to get by for now, I just needed work on concentration as the Cerebrate had suggested.

About four to five hours passed before Kibitoshin came back, a bit winded and tired from teleporting around so much. He claimed that Kaa had in fact taken about six million different souls before we had encountered him, which to be frank, was an alarming number. After a massive explanation about everything he had been doing for the past few hours, most of which I ignored, he teleported me back to Grand Kai's planet. Then I promptly gorged food from the Grand Kai's chefs, a gift for saving the day. After cleaning out their food stocks and getting a bath, I headed back to King Kai's house for some sleep, as I was quite tired. I managed to spot Lenz chasing after Bubbles again, and then sensed her doing the same for the next three hours as I tossed and turned from all the noise she was making. Since it wasn't quite evening yet in Other World, I wasn't having much luck in resting up with both the daylight and constant grumbling sounds. Videl chuckled a bit while fixing some sort of dinner, watching me stomp down the stairs and give the window an annoyed glare.

"I see your sharp senses have finally caught up with you," she said with a slight giggle.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to do something about her training methods. Trying to catch the monkey isn't helping at the moment since she manages to fall flat on her face every ten minutes. It doesn't help that she has a couple of big distractions bouncing around while everyone else is trying to focus on training. And that isn't helping with my sanity," I growled.

"Well, perhaps she needs another Saiyan to train with. Aside from your own training, you do look like you need something to do up here," King Kai suggested.

"Yeah, both the old fart and Vegeta gave me that speech already. I guess I'll do it the old fashioned way for now, can you spare a moment King Kai?" I asked as I headed for the door.

"Sure, what do you need?" he asked, getting up.

"About five hundred pounds of weighted clothing," I said with a grin.

"I started her out on only forty. Isn't that a bit much for a newcomer in this gravity?" he asked.

"We'll soon find out, besides it looks like she's been carrying around eighty pounds of weight just with those two air bags," I said, whistling for Bubbles to change directions. King Kai couldn't resist laughing a bit at my crack about her appearance and promptly rolled on the floor. Lenz slowly jogged towards us a minute or so later, wiped out from chasing him all over and not coming much closer than fifty feet at any given time.

"Ugh, damn monkey just doesn't, ugh, run out of, ugh, energy," she panted.

"Lenz, as you heard from Vegeta, you have been put under Verto's teaching. He will instruct you from now on, with a tip or two from yours truly," King Kai said.

"Well, at least it'll be easier than trying to catch this hyper monkey," she grinned as she glanced at me.

"You think so, huh?" I asked while crossing my arms.

"Oh yeah, anything exercise you can conjure up must be a breeze! Besides, I know a cutie like you wouldn't be too rough on me, right?" she asked, putting on some charm. _Yeah, nice try._

"I think she needs some Vegeta-style training," King Kai suggested.

"Yeah, bring it on little bro! Hey you don't mind if I call you little bro do you? You looked so much like him in that transformed state!" she asked.

"Little bro?" I asked with a slightly disturbed look as I glanced towards Videl, who took the opportunity to laugh at my expense.

"Well, in case you hadn't noticed, you don't exactly look like the impressive fighter you actually are. I think a nickname like that is perfectly harmless," King Kai chuckled.

"Hmph, master is probably closer to accurate," I said with a deep scowl.

"I doubt that little bro, are you going to start this training or what?" Lenz asked.

I smirked slightly, "You heard her, five hundred pounds it is!" King Kai's antennae flipped around and glowed for a moment before Lenz dropped to the ground.

"Oh man, so heavy," she groaned.

"This is the same weight that I started with, only I had a shitty environment to go with it, no one but Vegeta around and virtually no real fight training beforehand. I want you to do laps around the planet until you collapse. Then do pushups until your arms give out, and then do sit-ups until you can't move! Repeat the process and come back to me when you feel up to real training! You may not take off the weights until I tell you to, and it doesn't matter if you're eating or sleeping, they stay on! If there isn't any more questions, get a move on!" I shouted as I fired a weak blast at her feet. She jumped about an inch off the ground and fell backward, a bit shocked at my sudden demeanor before slowly getting up and struggling to take steps in the other direction.

"Well, that ought to keep her busy for a while. Maybe now would be a good time to work on your sense of humor. You have great potential, but are still a bit rough around the edges, little bro," King Kai laughed. I shot him a glare as I headed for bed, earning a loud laugh that lasted a few minutes as I grumbled angrily before falling asleep.

**Interlude 32.1 –Emergence-**

Gohan sat at his desk, pondering things while gazing at the large stack of schoolwork that had been collecting dust. He hadn't been at school for a while since the Zerg started showing up during the summer break. It had been about five days since he, Goku, Bardock and Vegeta had teleported back to Earth via Instant Transmission. They had gotten about halfway home from Frost's base with no real sign of being chased when he and Goku were able to sense the Namekians. After saying their goodbyes to Fenix and the Protoss, they went straight to Namek and then back to Earth from there, letting the Nameks know about their intentions next time they visited and to have the dragonballs ready. After the homecoming celebration, the Son Family moved back into their dusty house, which had somehow survived the Zerg onslaught untouched. Most of the forests nearby were still recovering a bit from the purple creep that had smothered them, but all was well. Gohan himself had been feeling a bit sick all the way home, but it eased up once they returned home. Despite being very happy to see his mother and brother, Gohan couldn't help but feel an overwhelming amount of guilt after the events of the past year, primarily starting when the Zerg first showed up. A lot of people had died, many who were close to him as well. What he felt the worst about was that he was almost useless on Auir despite his power. Verto had been the one who finished off Aldaris and the Overmind for good, and did it on death's doorstep. Then the incident in Frost's base where he had to watch another victim of oppression die. He trained hard after their escape, angry with himself for allowing it to happen. That didn't stop during the trip home, despite how sick he was getting. The nightmare he had afterwards kept repeating itself as well, and left an uncomfortable feeling that all was not right. Even though it would be awhile before Frost's forces came to Earth, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that something from that day was still with him. He had just finished a long training session with his father and Vegeta about an hour ago, one that got a little rowdy when he cranked up to Super Mystic to take them both on. He sighed and sped through his stacks of schoolwork before getting eating a hearty dinner and going to bed, his first day back to school was likely to be rough.

-

"So Gohan, what was it like in space? Did you meet any hot space chicks? How long have you been back?" Sharpner asked as he and several others followed Gohan through the hallway to first period.

"Did you guys exterminate the rest of the Zerg, and what about those other aliens that followed them here?" another student asked.

"Hey, how's Videl doing? Mr. Satan won't let us visit her!" Erasa asked. Gohan didn't answer, but kept a strict frown on his face the whole way there, attempting not to blowup at them for it. He thought things would improve a bit once class actually started, but most of the students ignored the teacher completely, intent on drawing answers out of Gohan. _They're like those damn reporters sometimes, man, can't they see that I would like to be left alone?_ He thought as he tried to concentrate on class. It didn't get any better as a lot of teenagers he didn't even know walked up and drilled him during lunch like they were part of the intelligence factions for the government. Gohan's mood also didn't improve any either, which was displayed as he walked away from them and accidentally swung a door open a little too quickly, shattering it. Gym class was almost a disaster, as they were playing soccer until Gohan launched the ball into orbit, almost taking a goaltender's head with it. The gym teacher shrugged it off as an accident and got out another ball, but Gohan declined to play anymore afterwards so he could keep himself under control. Then the period he dreaded came calling, homeroom. It was mostly just a social calling for the students, gossip hour, as if they didn't get enough of each other already.

"Hey, are you okay Gohan? You haven't said much today? Perhaps you would like to share the story of your trip to outer space with us, not many humans leave Earth you know!" the teacher suggested.

"Yeah Gohan, tell us how you and Mr. Satan fought off the evil Zerg army!" another student suggested.

"How about another day, or maybe I'll write a report on it if you want. I'm not feeling up to it right now," Gohan said in a low tone, trying not to act angry at their curiosity. _Ugh, just please don't mention Videl anymore, I can't take much more of this!_ Gohan glanced at Videl's empty seat by reaction to his own thoughts, and just past her was Sharpner's seat. Sharpner hadn't bothered him as much as other students for once, and actually held a brief worried expression when he continually saw Gohan's depressed frown. But when Gohan turned around again, it didn't appear to last.

"I know, you and Videl must have broken up, that's why you're so silent today. Just between you and me, I don't think she's worth all the trouble. Heh, She can be a real bitch sometimes ya know!" The reaction was immediate, and Sharpner found himself choking in the air from Gohan's grasp as the crowd of students gasped at Gohan's sudden burst across the room.

"Put him down Gohan!" the teacher screamed.

"What did you just say to me? I dare you to say it again! Do it before I snap your pathetic little neck!" he growled as he squeezed slightly on Sharpner's throat.

"But, I didn't say, anything!" Sharpner gagged as he lost his breath. The choking sounds emerged just as Gohan grinned slightly, and many of the girls in the room screamed at the color of Sharpner's head. Just as Sharpner lost his bearings and fell unconscious, Gohan realized what he was doing and dropped him. Then he vanished from the classroom, reappearing on the roof using instant transmission. _What have I done?_

-

The fallout from the incident at school didn't take long to reach Chichi, who berated Gohan for his actions. Gohan sat through it all with his head bent down, knowing he deserved every bit of it. She calmed down a bit though, knowing that this day would come eventually, she almost couldn't blame him for his actions after both he and the school explained that the students wouldn't leave him alone. That being said, Gohan did go over the line. He did call Sharpner's house later to apologize, but the father hung up on him instead.

"Well, you lucked out, they didn't kick you out since you're such a good student and all. You are suspended for one month though, no amount of coaxing will change their minds. You are to pick up your schoolwork everyday and immediately come home. I have ordered extra studies for you to do during your time off, and your father wants you to train everyday as well. Throw in some chores and you will have plenty of things to do around here young man. And go take a bath, you smell horrible!" Chichi shouted as she finished her lecturing. Gohan nodded slightly as he left the living room and walked up to his bedroom, very ashamed of his actions. After showering, he slowly dozed off at his desk while thinking about where the day had gone wrong. When he closed his eyes, he suddenly found himself in a dark and fog filled environment, no sign of his house or family.

"What the, where am I?" he asked himself.

"_In the deeper reaches of your mind, where I have been waiting for you_," a deep and sinister voice hissed through the air.

"Who's there?" he shouted, dropping into a ready stance.

"_One who will have your power and ability. I plan to use it to destroy the rest of your race!_" it said.

"Fat chance, I would never do such a thing!" Gohan countered.

"_Not willingly, but with a little convincing, the mind can play tricks on you! How do you think I made you attack your blonde haired friend when he really didn't say anything at all? I am a little disappointed that you didn't kill him, but that is certainly something we can work on at a later time. After all, we will be seeing a lot of each other from now on,_" it said.

"What are you? Some sort of Cerebrate or something? Did you get in my head while we were fighting the Zerg on Auir?" Gohan asked.

"_Oh no, I'm not involved with the Zerg at all. I only know about them after reading your memories, nasty little creatures aren't they? My employer is someone you now know quite well, it's too bad your power doesn't quite measure up though isn't it? That is fine by me, I can settle for second best,_" it said. Gohan continued to look around him, not seeing or sensing where the voice was coming from.

"You work for Frost don't you? You're the mercenary that Lenz warned me about! But how are you doing this?"

"_Very good boy, very good. My name is Viro, and I won't be doing the grunt work of this operation, you will! And if you don't do exactly as I tell you over the next few months, you will suffer greatly for it!_" Viro explained.

"Yeah right, no matter how much you screw with my head, I won't hurt anyone!"

"_We'll see about that dear boy, all in good time! We will speak again soon!_" Viro laughed as his voice faded away. Gohan woke up suddenly in a vicious cold sweat, huffing and puffing from the experience. He gazed out the window to see it was nighttime already, and sensed that most of the house was asleep, aside from his father grabbing a late night snack. He scanned himself all over, checking his energies for anything abnormal, but found nothing at all. _What the hell has happened to me, am I losing my mind? Or is it true, has that Viro guy actually invaded my mind?_ A chilly wind blew outside, almost as a sign of things to come.

**Next time on DBV: Lenz continues her training while Grand Kai invites Verto for his awarded lesson. The result of which earns Verto a powerful new attack. Meanwhile, Viro appears before Gohan again and shows him just how far he will go to get what he wants.**


	34. The Next Step

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 33**: **The Next Step**

"Man, this training doesn't do me much good anymore. When am I going to learn how to fly and blast things?" Lenz whined as she was doing pushups.

"When you're ready," I grumbled for the twelfth time of the week.

"You said that yesterday, and the day before!" she whimpered.

"Good, you can finally detect a trend. So next time you ask that question, say tomorrow, or next week, you can expect the same answer! Therefore you shouldn't have to ask the same question! Now get back to work!" I ordered.

"My real little brother wasn't such a little jerk you know!" she said, attempting to get some sort of sympathy.

"Hey what can I say, I'm a born and bred asshole," I shrugged. She growled a bit as she stomped off. It had been about a month since Kaa was destroyed, and Lenz had been progressing smoothly enough. It wasn't as fast as my training had been, but she didn't have the same potential and was generally weaker than I had been when I started out. I considered teaching her how to channel ki energy early, but figured that it would be much better to wait a little longer and see how far she could get with basic workouts. She had pretty much adjusted to the extra weight about two weeks ago, but was still struggling a little bit. It still took her a good hour or two to jog around the planet and she was rather winded afterwards. This wasn't the first time she complained about the training, but she mostly mentioned it to Videl behind my back, as if I couldn't hear her. Videl encouraged her that the weight training was effective, and that she'd have to be patient with me about it. I think the only thing that kept her going though was determination, patience wasn't something she had much of, a common trait that we shared. Her arms and legs were starting to tone nicely, though they were already in decent shape, I figured she only needed two more weeks before I started the hard stuff. I myself stuck to meditation like glue, many times staying under for more than twelve hours and not sleeping for several days. My concentration of Chi was getting a hell of a lot better, something I tested every week by firing off five Super Galic Guns in succession, all at full power. The first few times were a little tiring, but I eventually got to a point where I was using about half as much energy as before, a substantial improvement. Most of that time was spent in Super Mystic mode, which always made Lenz a little nervous. For the most part I didn't concentrate on creating energy fields outside anymore, they tended to be more volatile. I approached it with Piccolo's style of constant concentration and making my Chi energy flow circle through me while floating a few feet off the ground, like constant river of energy that held me steady. I wanted to go back to sparring with Dabura, my instinct constantly told me that it would be just as effective, and certainly a lot more interesting. However I needed to play the part of teacher and keep an eye on Lenz, she tended to have a temper when other fighters gave her advice. I was left alone for the most part, she didn't bug me as much as I expected, but today wasn't one of those days. She was back within an hour of her latest storm off.

"This isn't helping me any, and it's harder. At least chasing the monkey didn't get so dull," she replied.

"It's supposed to be hard, otherwise you won't get any stronger, you are further along than you think," I muttered.

"Whatever, all these weights are doing is slowing me down!" she claimed. I opened my eyes as she glared back, and stood up a moment later. _Well, I guess now is as good a time as any for a test._

"Alright then, take off your shirt," I ordered.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I mean your weighted undershirt, you can keep the rest. And dump your boots also," I said. She turned around as she did this, apparently not comfortable with the idea of flashing anyone nearby, not that I cared. She dropped her shirt and watched as it left a dent in the ground, doing the same with her boots a moment later. According to King Kai, that was most of the weight that he had given her, with only about twenty pounds worth of clothes within her gi top and pants. _She won't even feel those now, or at least she shouldn't._

"Hey Bubbles, time to race!" I called. The monkey slowly walked out of the house, looking like he needed a good run.

"Okay, first one to go around the whole planet and get back here is the winner!" I said.

"I have to race the damn monkey again? Argh," she groaned.

"You wanted something different. Just trust me on this one. Ready, set - GO!" Lenz and Bubbles took off full speed and left a fiery trail behind them, but I could already sense who was going to win. For the next two minutes or so, I sensed her tear a path through a hut or two and through several sparring contests. She was back quickly, taking a slight breather as she held her knees, but I sensed it was more from surprise then fatigue.

"Man...! I've never - run - ugh - so fast...before...!" she panted.

"Told ya it would work out for you," I said, heading back to the tree I had been sitting under.

"Where's the monkey at?" she asked, looking around.

"Probably about five miles back, you smoked him," I replied, taking a seat.

"Spar with me, I want to see how much I've improved," she requested, looking quite anxious.

"Not yet. When you can do that with all those weighted clothes, and then we'll move to the hard stuff. I suggest you get back to it," I said, pointing to her weighted clothes. She put them back on quickly and began her routine again, this time with slightly more vigor. I chuckled slightly at her renewed enthusiasm. _Lucky for her Vegeta isn't the teacher this time, and he never let me have a break like that to inspire me. Guess I'm lucky that I developed quickly._

I sensed King Kai walk towards me about an hour later, something important seemed to be on his mind. "What's up?" I asked as I stood back up.

"The Grand Kai would like to see you," he said softly.

"Okay, what's the crisis this time?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing like that. It's just a test. Go on, I'll take over from here," he said, motioning me along. I cautiously stepped into the Grand Kai's palace a few minutes later, watching for any testing attackers. I wasn't really concerned about it, but I was also sick of surprises lately. I found him on a throne in the center of the palace, looking quite bored. He was also decked on in formal wear, so that might have been why.

"Oh, you're here, about time dude. Come this way man!" he said, jumping off the throne and stepping behind it. I followed him through the back of the throne room to a single red door, one that was outlined in gold.

"Step through here and proceed. You have twenty minutes to find the exit. I'll meet you on the other side," he said. I walked through, losing all forms of light when he closed the door behind me. Ahead there was nothing but blackness for the next few minutes as I walked forward, scanning all around with my senses. A bright white light suddenly flashed and blinded me for a moment. I then found myself standing in a dirt filled wasteland, covered with smoggy clouds that blocked out the sun. There was little to no vegetation to be seen, just a lot of red and brown dirt along with blast marks. I was standing in ruins of what appeared to be an old city of some kind. I noticed dead bodies lying all around, many of them aliens of which I didn't recognize.

"Hello, is anyone here?" I called out. _So what sort of test is this supposed to be?_ As I surveyed what appeared to have been a great battle, I suddenly sensed a powerful and evil presence behind me.

"Well well, look what crawled through the door. And they say it's such a large universe that we live in," a voice said. I recognized the tone immediately and scowled when I turned to see a very familiar Protoss figure standing there. _I must have been transported to the afterlife of the other dimension, maybe the test is to put this dirt bag away or something._

"Aldaris, what a shame, your head got reattached," I said with a frown.

"No thanks to you. But that is in the past. Now it is time for my revenge. I'm not sure how you got here, but I guarantee you won't be able to leave intact! This is my realm, and I despise trespassers!" he shouted as he charged forward. I dodged aside easily and began to power up, hitting Super Mystic quickly and maxing out a moment later. Aldaris did the same, with the only difference being his energy was all Psi and his aura was a thick blue color.

"So, how shall we do it this time? How about...no energy blasts!" he suggested.

"If you honestly think that will help your chances," I said with a tight grin.

"It just might. We shall see," he said, circling through the air as I did the same, staring each other down. He charged first and swung hard with a right hand. I intercepted it and tossed Aldaris into a nearby wall, making it crumble on impact. He came flying back out in a fit of rage, punching and kicking with all his might as I blocked his hits. I allowed myself to grin slightly, it was very easy to see through his movements, especially when he was being sloppy.

"Come on, I know you're better than this! You're getting slow old man!" I dared as I dodged more blows.

"Shut your impudent mouth, you little rat. I'll teach you a lesson in respect!" he growled. He punched forward a little too hard for his own good, and I dodged easily, kicking him in the back as he tumbled forward.

"Love to stay and chat, but I need to get going," I said, charging up my Super Galic Gun. Just as I would have fired it though, the energy from my hands literally vanished into thin air.

"What the hell?" I asked as I stared at my hands.

"Heh, what did you think - that you had won so easily? When I said no energy blasts, I meant exactly that. This place that were in, the laws of it are different that we are used to. While you or I are easily stronger than everyone else and can fly around with no problem, we can't fire off energy blasts, the air will literally suck it right out of you. It's some sort of limitation on this dimension. Oh sure, we can power up and move faster with little to no resistance, but when it comes to your specialty of blowing up half the planet, nothing works. Not even my shield or Psi storm will function in this place, nor my phantom technique. So I figure it's a legitimate handicap for now. You'll have to wear me down the hard way!" Aldaris explained. I lifted an eyebrow slightly, unsure about everything he said, but it did make sense why my blast didn't fire. I had no problem with beating the tar out of him for a few hours, but I didn't have that kind of time.

"Sorry, but I only have a few minutes to find the way out of here. Maybe I'll come back and kick your ass another day," I said, flying over the city.

He flew ahead and blocked my path, "I never said you could leave! To escape from here, you'll have to beat me first!" he claimed.

"Argh, buzz off!" I growled as I turned and flew off to my left. My actions were answered with a rude foot in the back, and I picked myself out of the rubble a moment later, seething.

"Fine, you want it, you got it!" I warned.

"Now that is more like it, for a second I thought you smelled like someone else!" he laughed as he dropped into a stance. _Damnit, I don't have time for this. It may not take long without his illusion crap, but its probably going to take longer than I have!_ I glanced around for any sign of an exit, but there were none. Aldaris swept down as just as I turned my head, letting me have it in the face. I fell to my ass and glared up at him. Behind him though was a tall pillar with ancient looking writing on it, hieroglyph style. It looked a lot like the ancient writing I had seen in the Protoss temple on Auir. I saw the Kai symbol imprinted on a door with a figure walking towards it. Then below I saw the figure doing battle with another. At the very bottom, just above Aldaris's shoulder, the first figure had a glowing fist buried in the gut of his opponent, and the shape of a dragon protruding from his enemy's back. I gasped slightly as I recognized what it was, even though I hadn't seen it performed in person.

_You gotta be kidding me, I've got to beat him with the Dragon Fist?_ I paled slightly in knowing how long it could take to learn it. Not only that, I had never seen it demonstrated before, Goku hadn't even shown me that he knew how to do it, and perhaps he didn't. Aldaris didn't bother to notice what I was reading and grabbed me by the gi, holding me up to eye level. I looked past him at a previous inscription, seeing the fighters hand was glowing by itself before he attacked. _Maybe that means I need to concentrate a lot of power into my fist and release it upon impact. It would certainly have an effect!_ I turned towards Aldaris, who looked ready to punch my head off. I kicked him down low and he dropped me, then I bashed him hard in the face with a backhand. Picking up his arm, I threw him into the air, watching as he spun out of control. I then refocused my power into my right hand, causing it to glow green much like the hieroglyphs on the wall. I channeled more than enough power to blow up a world or two before turning back to Aldaris, who had just recovered and was flying towards me fast.

"Come on brat, let's see what you're made of!" he challenged. I lifted off the ground and rushed towards him, my fist tucked behind for just the right moment.

"Take this you!" I shouted, punching forward. Just as I made contact with his stomach, I released the energy stored in my hand. A bright green flash went off a moment later and I flew by it before spinning around to watch what happened. I didn't see any sort of dragon or any other creature for that matter, just a good size explosion. The smoke cleared quickly and Aldaris was nowhere to be found. I dropped to the ground nearby the broken wall, to see if I did anything wrong. Just as I looked the steps over, the environment blacked out again and a door suddenly opened ahead of me. There stood the Grand Kai, outside the door I had entered to begin with.

"I see you aren't quite ready for the technique," he said.

"You mean the Dragon Fist?" I asked.

"If you want to call it that. It isn't a real dragon, only a false image of one that fools the enemy while you literally tear right through them with the blow. It is the only real attack that is designed to kill your opponent with the same amount of power that it would take to wipe out a solar system, thus why only Goku and yourself have been allowed to learn it. It is a weapon that harnesses your extreme power without harming the environment its user is in. It may have seemed simple to accomplish, but it also takes a great deal of power and concentration to pull off. Only the purest beings can actually summon the dragon image from this attack, and also the most disciplined. Maybe in time you will be able to do it, but not yet," he explained.

"I didn't think it would be so easy to do, I thought that maybe I had put too much into it there for a moment," I said.

"Perhaps you are still too young, but by all means, practice the technique. I doubt you'll need it for a long time, if ever. But you never know when it may come in handy against a powerful opponent. I doubt you'll get much more out of it than an explosive punch for now. Though it may pay off more than you realize. That's all I have for you to learn, it was more of a test that the Supreme Kai ordered for you, but there's the lesson I owed you. I absolutely hate these threads, I need to go put something that is a little more me," he said, shifting back to a rock star-like language. I chuckled slightly as he walked off, and I slowly made my way back to King Kai's house. _I guess since it took about the same power as a Super Galic Gun, I'll call it the Super Galic Fist or something like that. _I grinned as I thought about how many times I could pay Vegeta back for all those head blows with just one shot.

**Interlude 33.1 –Strangle Hold-**

Gohan sighed with slight relief as he sat in class. It had been a month since the incident at school and his suspension had finally been lifted. While at home he kept caught up with chores and homework, and even the training sessions. In his opinion, the last whole month had been easy, despite having to deal with his own guilt over what had happened. What he was most relieved about though, there weren't any nightmares or voices in his head for the entire time, including most of this school day. That didn't mean things weren't still a little edgy. Most of the other students stayed clear of him, despite his apology to Sharpner the instant he walked in the door. Speaking of the blonde jock, he accepted the apology as quickly as possible before making sure there were other bodies between him and Gohan at all times, as if it would matter. The rest of the day was similar with a constant path through the halls to walk through, as no one really wanted to piss him off for any reason. Even now he was sitting alone in homeroom, somewhat happy that the day proceeded as it did. He usually didn't like to be isolated, but everyone knew about his strength now so it didn't matter. If anything it was almost like whenever the public was around Vegeta. As the teacher rambled on about some special event coming up, Gohan found himself trying to figure out what had actually happened before. _Maybe it was some sort of post-traumatic stress or something, the whole last year has been hectic. Besides, I doubt some random villain can just enter my mind without me knowing it. And I doubt he could control me either._ Gohan just shook his head slightly, dismissing it as his own imagination. One of the students nearby suddenly stood up and ran for the trashcan, sticking his head into it. He then proceeded to empty his lunch into it before collapsing onto the floor. A few girls screamed as Gohan himself tried to figure it out. _Must have come down with a Virus or something._ The teacher phoned the nurse's office immediately, and a few medics came down to access the situation. The student was running a high fever and was unconscious for the moment. They attempted to wake him, but to no avail. A stretcher was called in and they hauled him out of there in an ambulance. _Well, that was a little strange,_ Gohan thought.

"_You think so huh, well, what about this one?"_ a voice said. Gohan then glanced over to another student just as his life force dropped a bit. This student coughed viciously like he was choking, before falling off his chair and rolling down the stairs, out cold. _What the hell is going on?_

"_Looks like that one has come in contact with some sort of virus just like you thought, I wonder how that happened,_" the voice chuckled this time.

"_**I didn't imagine it then. You are real, aren't you, Viro?**"_ Gohan thought as he narrowed his eyes, staring a hole in his desk.

"_Very good, Gohan. I've been very busy for the last month or so while you've been at home, how have things been?"_ Viro asked with a slight sneer.

"**_Just peachy until you showed up again, get out of my head!"_ **

"_Afraid I can't do that, you see, you are my new host. I had been looking for a body that could stand up to Frost's awesome power. While you aren't quite at his level, you are close enough since you are the strongest Saiyan in existence! It was quite convenient of you to show up just as I was reporting to Frost for his mission. From there it was an easy way to get to Earth without leaving any suspicion within the other Saiyans,"_ Viro explained.

"**_What do you plan to do?"_** Gohan asked.

"_My mission is simple, exterminate you Saiyans, and I plan to use your body to do it. However I know you probably won't cooperate with me, which is why I have my little guarantee in place. You see, the entire planet is now infected with a dormant virus, every human and every Saiyan now have it thanks to your genetic disposition. I can activate it in everyone at any time, or in just a single host, it really doesn't matter to me. I cannot stop my virus once it has been unleashed, and they will remain sick and comatose for about a week until they finally curl up and die._ _Whether that happens or not is completely up to you. You will be my servant from now on, and if you do not do exactly as I tell you to, you can say goodbye to everyone on Earth!"_ Viro explained.

Gohan growled slightly as the final bell rang. "_Oh, and I don't suggest trying to warn others about this. I can see and hear everything you do, including your telepathic abilities. So if you were thinking of contacting the one you call Piccolo, I wouldn't advise it. Otherwise I cannot guarantee that your poor mother stays standing in the next few minutes,_" Viro suggested. Gohan pounded his desk with his hand, leaving a hole as long as his arm right in the middle of it.

"**_You won't get away with this!_"** Gohan warned as he cringed slightly.

"_I already have,"_ Viro chuckled.

-

**Next time on DBV: While Viro continues to haunt Gohan's mind, the half saiyan challenges Vegeta and Goku to a match inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber in hopes of trapping Viro there. Meanwhile, Lenz's impatience with her training finally goes over the edge and leads her into taking on someone she is clearly not ready for.**


	35. Gohan's Insurrection

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 34: Gohan's Insurrection**

"_I suggest you go about your business and try not to look suspicious right now, I despise those who don't do what I say and try to warn those around of their impending doom. I don't intend to harm anyone until all of your Saiyan friends are back on Earth, and that includes your mate, Videl. Frost doesn't want the humans destroyed, but I am cleared to eliminate them as well if needs be. If you cooperate, I may forget about your mate and your mother and let them live along with all of the other humans_," Viro suggested. Gohan was currently flying through the air towards home, very pissed off about the strangle hold that Viro now had on the planet. Not only did he or anyone else not see this coming, but there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it at the moment. In the back of his mind, he knew that perhaps Verto could cure the virus with his Psi and Chi abilities as he had done to himself with the Zerg infestation, but he didn't dare to think of that possibility right now, or about Verto at all.

"So what exactly do you want me to do? You have the whole damn planet on a leash," Gohan asked, talking aloud even though he didn't need to.

"_I believe you had a sparring contest scheduled with your father this afternoon. I want you to beat him to within an inch of his life!_" Viro ordered. Gohan scowled immediately, but didn't say anything to the contrary. He sensed his father straight ahead around his house, and he sensed Vegeta's along side.

"_Interesting - the Saiyan prince is also present, perhaps its time we test your body Gohan. I want you to challenge both of them at the same time. I want to be able to know that my host is in good working order, and two level three Super Saiyans are as good a test as any!"_

"I doubt I can take them both," Gohan added.

"_Well, perhaps it is time to find out if you can or not. Let me give you some incentive - if you can't beat them both, I will kill 10 percent of the population the instant you lose_," Viro warned.

Gohan frowned deeply, "I'll see what I can do."

"_Now that's better, I wouldn't have to resort to threats if you would simply obey me. Once we have that established, we can take the next step_," Viro suggested. Gohan slowed down as he reached his house, spotting the two Saiyan rivals just outside.

"Look Kakarot, the bookworm returns," Vegeta chuckled as Gohan landed.

"Did you have a good day at school son?" Goku asked, ignoring the prince.

Gohan hesitated for a moment, but didn't need another reminder from Viro to know not to say anything, "Could have been better."

"_The Saiyan Prince Vegeta...I considered him for a host, but I'm not sure I could get past all of the arrogant pride that he projects_," Viro chuckled in the back of Gohan's mind.

"Go get changed and then we can spar!" Goku suggested.

"Hey dad, you think we can turn it up a notch and use the time chamber to spar today?" Gohan asked.

"You want to, really? Oh boy! Yes of course son, I'm sure Piccolo will let us use the room for a little while! Doesn't that sound like fun Vegeta?" Goku asked, very excited. Vegeta only grumbled slightly at his rival's anxious behavior.

"_Goku, the third class clown that rose to the heights of a Super Saiyan and defeated Frieza. Out of all the legends I've heard about him, I never pictured him to be such an idiot!_" Viro taunted again. Gohan barely managed a straight face as he excused himself to his room to change clothes.

_This day could be the worst one yet  
I just won't relax I can't catch my breath  
Because I'm sick and tired of you'll be fine  
Well how do you know, can you read minds?_

"You want to take us both on at full power? You must have more Saiyan blood in you than I thought," Vegeta said, slightly surprised after Gohan suggested it as they entered the hyperbolic time chamber.

"I don't have any Senzu beans with me today, but I suppose we could ask Dende to heal us if things get too dicey. Alright son, let's see what you've got!" Goku shouted as he dropped into stance. Vegeta and Gohan both followed suit, and the area then lit up with auras, two gold and one white. Gohan didn't budge as both Goku and Vegeta finished powering up to Super level 2, he had no intention of going all out, but he was going to put on a good show. As much as Viro could read his mind, he held onto a hunch that perhaps Viro couldn't affect his victims from another dimension. Viro now was slightly excited that Gohan would lure them into the time chamber, he looked at it as killing two birds with one stone. After all, wiping out Goku and Vegeta would go a long way in conquering Earth. Gohan knew though that someone would use the dragonballs right away to bring them back once something went wrong. The only problem was that he didn't want Viro to know that he knew, and he needed his father to kill him while Viro was inside of his mind, that was the hard part. Gohan refocused himself on the battle at hand, having a pretty good idea of when he was going to spring his own trap on Viro. If all else failed, he would blow up the door to the time chamber and trap himself in, it was as good a failsafe plan as any.

"Let's get started!" Gohan said.

_So take while you can, so you can meet demands  
My insanity is what you thrive on  
So rip it from my soul, so everyone will know in the end  
We were never friends_

All at once, Goku and Vegeta charged at Gohan, attempting to knock him off balance. Gohan blocked both punches and then dodged through the flurry that followed, returning fire with a few of his own. He knocked his father away and focused on Vegeta for the next few seconds, breaking through the prince"s guard and letting him have a few stiff punches in the face. Goku jumped back in just as he bashed Vegeta to the ground, and received the same treatment from Gohan. Gohan let it continue though, he knew that even at Super Saiyan 2, he could take them both, it wasn't going to get interesting until they decided to take it up further. Vegeta launched a large ki blast as he rushed in, clocking Gohan in the face just when the young Saiyan dodged aside. Gohan was stunned momentarily, all the time Goku and Vegeta needed to double-team him on both sides of his prone form, punching and kicking him all over. Gohan recovered quickly and phased out, getting out of no-man's-land rapidly as he wiped a trace of blood from his lips. Goku and Vegeta lined up back to back and fired several one-handed ki blasts. Gohan ducked and dodged through them all, but slowed just enough to get hit by a few of them purposefully, allowing himself to consider them lucky hits. Viro took little notice of the deliberate damage, as the pain receptors pretty much blocked out Gohan's deepest thoughts. Gohan sensed his father and Vegeta letting up a bit, and dropped back into a familiar stance, lighting up the whole area with blue energy.

"Kamehameha!" he shouted, firing straight at the golden duo. They both dodged aside as it struck and exploded, slightly surprised glances came his way. _Damnit, they're still holding back a bit. _

"I told you I wanted to go out and I meant it! Now are you going to come at me with everything you've got or not?!" Gohan yelled at them, startling the two Super Saiyans. Vegeta didn't let that one go unanswered though and quickly powered up until his hair was around his waist. Goku hesitantly followed suit and hit Super Saiyan 3 an instant later, maxing himself out. Vegeta didn't waste another breath and charged at Gohan, who barely dodged the attack. He didn't see Goku coming until his fist was already implanted in his cheek. A sharp pain erupted in his back as Vegeta appeared there, kicking him harshly as he stumbled forward.

"_Oh come on, you had better quit playing around!"_ Viro warned as Gohan was planted on his backside. Gohan smirked slightly as he stood up and dropped his ki level, releasing his Psi energy to do just that. With a mighty battle cry, his hair shifted to silver just as his eyes shifted blue, and the other two Saiyans readied themselves for the next round.

_Have you ever felt lost inside, so unloved within that you almost die?  
Have you ever stepped out of the light and realized there's a stranger inside?_

Just as Gohan finished his power up, he was bull rushed by Goku and Vegeta. He teleported out of the way by use of instant transmission, but reappeared just behind his two opponents, attacking them both from the blindside with two knife hand chops. Goku flipped around and stopped as Vegeta landed prone on the ground, turning and charging. Gohan blocked Vegeta's next assault of punches, but was unable to avoid Goku's teleporting punch from behind. He dropped to the ground for a moment before launching a powerful Chi blast into the air. Both Super Saiyans avoided it and watched the incredible explosion it gave off. Gohan grunted slightly as he got back up, seemingly fatigued. Vegeta took advantage of Gohan's lack of moment and fired one of his big bang attacks. Gohan narrowly avoided the center of the blast, but got caught up in some of the explosion. Vegeta fired several more ki blasts, tearing up the ground around Gohan, never mind the young Saiyan himself. Gohan's clothes and body were battered and bruised once the smoke cleared, but no one moved. Goku silently watched this, unsure what to make of the situation. On one hand, it looked as if Gohan had taken enough beating for one day, and on the other, it looked like he wasn't even trying. When Gohan realized he wasn't getting hit anymore, he stood up slowly, feeling the bumps and bruises forming, and waved Vegeta on.

"Come on, is that all you got?" Gohan dared, knowing what Vegeta's reaction might be.

"FINAL FLASH!" came the shout. Gohan grinned slightly as he prepared to take the blast had on, powering down some in the process.

_Don't push your ignorance on me  
I'm not unrehearsed to your jealousy  
And I know you think I don't see the signs  
Well how do you know, do I look blind?_

"_So, you think by killing yourself, the world will stay safe?"_ Viro suddenly asked.

"_It will get rid of you! And in this dimension you can only hurt us three, once they know what happened, they will understand!"_ Gohan replied coolly.

"_You think my virus is limited by this dimension's boundaries? I guess you won't mind killing all of the humans off now then!"_ Gohan suddenly frowned and quickly flew out of the way of the golden blast, knowing that he miscalculated something.

"_What you fail to understand Gohan, is that without me around - my virus will automatically activate whether I tell it to or not. Like I said, it's a dormant virus, however it is telepathically linked with me through you. I keep it dormant to make better use of my time, without me, your precious population is as good as dead!"_ Viro explained. Gohan growled slightly as he saw his plan going down the drain. Goku and Vegeta were also looking ready to have another round, so he was fighting battles on two fronts.

_So take it while you can, so you can meet demands  
My breakdown is what you thrive on  
So rip it from my soul so everyone will know in the end  
I'm the break you're the bend_

"_Now then, if you don't hurry up and get serious, I will start killing humans at random. Who knows who might get it, it might be your mother, or it might be your brother!" _Viro warned. Gohan snarled and lashed out at the closest target, Vegeta. He punched the prince so hard that his nose broke instantly, and then was damaged even more when he kneed him in the face several times. Goku jumped in to help, figuring something was wrong with Gohan, only to get kicked square in the jaw and hit with a quick Chi blast. Gohan snarled in anger at his failed plan, and chased after his father, stopping his momentum with a nasty punch to the kidneys and kicking him back up into the air. He rose by instinct to smash him into the ground, but was cut off by Vegeta, who rammed into him full speed with a flying punch. Goku recovered just as Gohan and Vegeta engaged in another short brawl, attacking just as Vegeta was knocked away. Gohan then traded blows with his father, his rage from his failed plan increasing by the second. Goku watched his son's eyes carefully, noticing a rather abrupt change in his fighting style a moment later when Gohan tried to take his head off.

"Whoa! Easy Gohan! Just because we agreed to go all out doesn't mean were in a life or death situation. I'm sure your mother would be furious if you were to kill me right?" Goku asked with a cheerful looking smile.

"_What a fool that father of yours is. But I suppose you can't blame him, no one has ever been able to detect me until its too late. That's enough fooling around now Gohan, I want you to kill them both!"_ Viro announced. Gohan's angry look melted into shock as Goku and Vegeta looked on, confused.

"_You said you only wanted me to beat them, not to kill them yet!"_ Gohan asked silently.

"_I've changed my mind, plus this is as good a test for you as any. Kill those two now, and you will go a long way in saving the human race!"_ Viro said. Gohan took a moment to react, pausing as the other two Saiyans watched carefully. He suddenly glared upwards at them before charging up his power to full and then concentrating it through himself as much as possible.

"_No, I refuse. I will stay true to myself, and you'll have to do it alone! You will not use me as a tool for destruction. I'd rather die than forsake any of them! And I'm still not sure about your virus actually being linked to you telepathically, because I would be able to sense that! I'm going to end your existence along with mine, I'll see you in Hell!"_ Gohan thought back as he channeled his power deeper into himself.

"_Rotten Saiyan, I figured you were too noble to simply follow instructions that would save your planet. Very well then, I've been wanting to take a real stroll in your body, looks like I will do just that!"_ Viro announced. Gohan's grinning and determined look didn't last as he felt himself being pulled away. He attempted to detonate all of the power he had gathered to take them both out, but soon felt all control over his body slipping. He sensed Viro and himself switching places, with him as the one trapped inside of his own mind and Viro taking over his physical body. As the transfer was occurring though, some of his power burned up and he felt his body losing the Super Mystic form, as Viro likely didn't know how to control it just yet.

_Have you ever felt lost inside, so unloved within that you almost die?  
Have you ever stepped out of the light and realized there's a stranger inside?_

Everything went black slowly after as Gohan heard a repeating laugh in his thoughts. On the outside, Goku and Vegeta were slightly stunned at what they had seen, but didn't think much of it as they left the time chamber with a knocked out Gohan. Little did they know, that their next lethal enemy was already among them.

* * *

"_Stranger Inside" _by Shinedown

* * *

I suddenly snapped out of meditation, slightly startled from some sort of power surge from a great distance. I scanned all around the planet and even further beyond to try and locate it, but came up with nothing. I also heard Videl drop some dishes a moment later, her power signal felt a bit distressed and confused at the same time. I shrugged it off as some sort of mental interference on her part, that connection we shared had been known to cause weird things to happen from time to time. I attempted to resume my concentration, until Lenz blew by, practically leaving a trail of fire behind her. It had been another few weeks since her previous test of speed and she was progressing nicely. King Kai had even pulled out the hammer for the cricket-thumping test, one that she passed within an hour or so with the weighted clothing. She was even enjoying her training a little more, and her power was itching to make itself known. Again, she didn't seem to have any more potential than a regular Saiyan, but I doubt I felt any different when I was in her shoes. With her current progress though, Super Saiyan was attainable by Vegeta's deadline. I wasn't really concerned with her power building though, she could have all the power in the world and not make a difference if she didn't know how to use it effectively. Motivation wasn't a problem by the look of things, discipline was. I silently decided that I was going to start training her on how to channel ki the next day, figuring enough time had passed. _Guess I'll be pretty busy for the next few weeks._

"You mean it, you're finally gonna teach me?" Lenz asked excitedly the next morning after breakfast once I mentioned our plans for the day.

"Yes, I think you've waited long enough. But that means that it's only going to get harder from now on. You'll be packing in a heavy schedule of training if were going to get you up to Super Saiyan status by the deadline," I warned.

"Bring it on, this training is easy now!" she boasted.

"We'll see if you still think so in a few days, but I'm glad to see you realize how effective this first round actually was. I did what you did in about 3 or 4 days, but its different for everyone," I explained.

"Three or four days?! How?" she asked, shocked.

"Not really sure, believe me I didn't think I could get going that fast either. It slowed down afterwards and I still took four months to hit Super Saiyan for the first time, but that's a story for another day. Let's get started," I said, pointing towards the door.

"Try not to aim any this way, I don't want my house flattened!" King Kai called out.

"No guarantees," I said with a grin.

We walked a good ways from King Kai's house to get to an open and deserted area, a preferred environment without distractions.

"Okay, take a seat. The simplest way I can put this is to focus yourself on finding your center. Concentrate on that area until you feel a pulling sensation. That is your ki, all you have to do after that is bring it…" I began. I was interrupted when she suddenly formed a ki ball between her two hands. "…Out," I finished, slightly stunned.

"Oops, " she muttered.

"How long exactly have you been able to do that?" I asked straight up, wondering if she hadn't in fact gone to someone else for lessons.

"I kinda did it on accident a few days ago, but I saw Videl doing that and tried it myself when I was taking a break. I didn't think it would be so easy, and I've been practicing it ever since," she admitted as she moved her weak ki ball through the air. _Okay, I've heard of strength accidents, but not like this. Granted I've had some pretty powerful bursts of energy while angry, as did Gohan, but not like this. Only someone with a lot of potential could teach themselves. Old Kai might have been right after all. _

"Well, it would have saved a bit of time if you had come to me first about this. But since you know what to do I guess all that remains is building it up. First thing I want you to learn to do is fly," I said with a slight grin. Her happy face turned to dread in a heartbeat, but shifted back towards determined quickly.

"Okay, what do I do?" she asked.

"Use your energy to levitate first of all, just move it around underneath you and push yourself up," I suggested. _Well, at this rate she'll master flight pretty quickly, but the first few falls ought to be entertaining._ Lenz cringed slightly as I sensed her focusing her ki towards her feet. She began to hover off the ground slightly by a foot or two, and she felt slightly relieved.

"Well, that's not too bad for a first timer, how far up can you go though? After all, two feet isn't going to get you anywhere," I dared. She took this as an insult and powered more energy into her floating form. The result was a skyrocket into the air until she panicked and stopped herself. The instant she stopped, down she came as the extra gravity kicked in. Just as she would have left a nice dent in the ground, she kept her resolve and stopped just shy of it, floating barely six inches.

"Nice try," she said with an angry expression.

"Well, look at it this way, you'll master flight in no time. Get to work on your movement through the air. Afterwards I want you to start meditating, this will help you build up your ki concentration. Then we can get to actual sparring," I said, walking off towards a vacant spot for meditation. As she practiced, I watched her carefully, trying to sort things out. _She couldn't have accidentally discovered her energy. But on the other hand, I don't think she was lying either, I would have detected that. I thought I sensed her power growing a bit more than usual for someone who isn't used to ki control. I discovered it pretty quickly too a few years ago, but I had Vegeta's help and it still took a little while longer the first time. Perhaps there is more to her than I thought._


	36. Lessons in Pain

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 35: Lessons in Pain**

I'm rarely surprised by others around me, but Lenz surprised the hell out of me when it came to progress. Only a month after she had learned to control her energy was she flirting with the Super Saiyan level, even I hadn't done that. She had caught up to Videl in power, and was quickly catching up in overall skill. She had a very unique fighting style that I finally got to witness now that I was training her full time. It was an aggressive but also very cautious style that relied on hands for almost all of the blocking and kicks for all of the attacking. I attempted to mold some of my style into hers just for the knowledge, but she did well on her own. I also wasn't quite as brutal when it came to sparring, not like Vegeta had been with me. Otherwise I'm sure the relationship between her and I would have only been a lot more arguing. I had gotten used to her being around, much like a friend or distant relative. She still looked down on me though when it came to non-fighting issues, and not just because she was a quite a bit taller. We still hadn't told her that I had previously been an adult in the past before being sent to this dimension, King Kai suggested I keep that kind of information hidden for the time being.

Needless to say, Videl was very happy to join us for sparring matches, no doubt just her regular training routine was getting dull. That and Lenz didn't seem to take me as seriously as she should have, even with such drastic difference in power levels. Videl and Lenz seemed to match up quite well with each other in not only style, but eventually power as well. Videl was much more balanced and relied on her footwork more when it came to movement, but Lenz sure could move with her hands whenever she was knocked to the ground and tended to hover off the ground more during her attacks once she mastered flight. I had her keep her energy beams restricted until I felt it was appropriate to cut loose, and thus she got a little frustrated with me about them. Rather than teach her how to conjure a finishing blast, I wanted her to work on concentration and meditation first, taking from my own experiences. I didn't show her much past powering up and sensory skills when it came to energy manipulation. I felt that pushing her too far too fast would be dangerous in the end, and King Kai felt the same when I discussed it with him. Again, I noticed that she shared that common trait of impatience that I once endured, though it was common with a lot of Saiyans anyway. I sensed it was getting close to the level of explosion, but didn't take much heed even as she barked about it over dinner.

"Come on, why won't you teach me some powerful attacks?" Lenz asked as I was munching down food.

"I will when you're ready. Knowing powerful attacks and knowing when to use them are two different things. Also, you must be completely focused when you handle that kind of power, any amateur can easily blow up the planet they are on if he or she isn't careful," I explained calmly.

"But I am ready, little bro! You said yourself that I'm almost to the Super Saiyan level! Surely Prince Vegeta wouldn't approve of you holding out on me!" she suggested, trying to draw me out.

I saw through her strategy easily though and kept calm, "I am your teacher right now, not Vegeta. And just because you're stronger now doesn't mean you are ready for the big fight situations. Teaching you a strong attack won't mean much if you can't handle the fight that you are in. You must have discipline to make the right decisions under a battle situation, otherwise you'll get floored. Trust me, I've had to learn this myself many times, and even then it doesn't always work out in my favor. Take Kaa for example, I went after him so hard initially that I didn't see my mistake until it was much too late. I'm only holding out on you because I care enough to teach you properly. Vegeta kicked my ass day in and day out until I was strong enough and smart enough to take things to the next level. It wasn't until after I made it to Super Saiyan that I actually learned about discipline and strategy, thanks to a certain Namekian. Trust me, you're getting off easy right now," I explained. Lenz settled down then after a slow nod of the head, but I still sensed her frustrations all through the night. Little did I know that they were going to turn into something extremely stupid.

-

"All right, where did she go?" I asked when I got up the next morning. I immediately sensed something was wrong when Videl was in a frantic mood while cooking breakfast, but when I didn't sense Lenz coming back from her morning workout routine and her weighted clothing was strung all over a chair, it was obvious.

"She went down to Hell," Videl admitted.

"Do you know why she went there?" I asked, tightening my belt slightly.

"She said she wanted to take your advice and get some experience. And then, I kinda mentioned that I thought she was strong enough..." Videl trailed off, looking away from me.

"Strong enough for what?" I asked, raising my voice a bit.

"Strong enough to take on Frieza or Cell," Videl said quickly, holding her head down.

"I see...! Well, do you really know the situation then? Even if she is on par with Frieza, which I seriously doubt, he will beat her into the ground at her current skill level, never mind Cell! Argh, there was a reason I was taking things slowly with her, to prepare her body for what Vegeta's training will be like. I never expected her to come this far so fast and I wanted to proceed carefully. Having great power means needing great responsibility, and she isn't mentally ready for the next level!" I explained.

"Well, she does know how to use the Galic Gun. I kinda showed her the Kamehameha while you were away dealing with that monster and she asked if you used it much. I knew you preferred the red one and explained that it was almost the same. I saw her practicing it the other day during the morning workout," Videl explained.

"That isn't going to change much in a real fight, but it may be enough to make her even more overconfident," I said.

"I'm sorry Verto! I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I didn't think she would actually go," Videl said, wiping a small tear from her eye.

"Well, don't worry about it now, what's done is done," I said, heading for the door.

"Wait, where are you going? Don't you want your breakfast?" Videl asked. There was a large display of food on the table as she always had ready every morning. It was tempting to stay and wait for a battered Lenz to come back, but in all likelihood, she didn't know the way back even if she made it through unscathed.

"Keep it warm, I'll be back in a bit. I'm going to go take care of this mess," I said.

"But...!" Videl started.

"No, you can't come. She's my responsibility. Don't worry too much, she's tough enough that a few rounds with Frieza isn't going to hurt her too much. It may give her a refreshing and much needed kick in the teeth though. I'll be back soon," I said with a slight wave as I headed outside and flew off towards Snake Way.

**Interlude 35.1 –Lenz vs. Frieza**

"Got any sevens?" Frieza asked.

"Go fish!" King Kold replied as his son rummaged though the pile of cards.

"This stinks," Cell muttered as he held his own cards in disgust.

"It always stinks down here, you forget my brother rarely orders his flunkies to bathe," Cooler said, looking over his own hand as he glared back at the Ginyu force practicing their poses.

"That's not what I meant. I mean the situation we had and carelessly threw away," Cell said.

"Well, it's your fault for wanting to play hero. You were the dominant personality in that union. Personally, I'm glad I'm not fused with you anymore!" Frieza growled.

"If I recall, I warned you that the fusion may screw something up or have adverse mental effects. So whose fault was it really?" Cell fired back, getting no answer as Frieza grumbled and picked a card.

"It is kind of amusing to know that the fusion ended up being worthless. You still couldn't take that kid, and then some pet monster killed you," King Kold chuckled.

"Oh stick a sock in it father! Even Cell had no idea the kid was that strong! And don't get me started on that demon thing that the wizard managed to release. Besides, you don't have much room to talk, that thing killed you without a fight!" Frieza pointed out.

"I guess I was the only one smart enough to stay away from it, eh, dear brother?" Cooler laughed as the other three glared at him.

"I wonder how the kid managed to beat that thing anyway. I heard that he had help from Broly, but ended up contacting Goku and Vegeta for a fusion. Then again, maybe I'm glad that we couldn't beat that monster. I wouldn't have wanted to face a fusion between those two now," Cell said.

"Those two worthless monkeys," Frieza growled again.

"Yes, those two worthless apes that kicked the shit out of Majin Buu back on Earth. I seem to recall getting killed several times over by weaker combatants at that time," King Kold said, shutting his son up for the time being. Silence filled the table, until it was Cooler's turn again.

"Frieza, got any sevens?" he grinned.

"Damnit!" Frieza shouted, throwing the three cards down.

-

Above the table, Lenz floated and observed. At first she wasn't sure which one was which, except she knew that Frieza and Frost did not look alike despite their relationship as father and son. _Let's see, the one on the right looks just like Frost, so that must be Cooler. The one across is huge and I swear he looks like a King Kold statue I have seen before, so that rules him out. The big green one resembles them, but is much stronger than all of them, so that must be Cell. That leaves the smaller white one, hard to believe that he's Frieza, but then again, I've never seen a picture of him in his final form_, she thought as she looked on. She was a bit surprised that no one had noticed her yet, but with those four playing cards and the Ginyu practicing those god-awful poses, it was understandable. She decided to launch the first attack, and fired a medium sized ki blast directly at the table. Cell glanced upward and batted it away from the surprised card players.

"I see we have a guest," he said as the others looked up.

"Shit," Lenz cringed as she lowered to the ground.

"It is quite rude to interrupt a card game in such a violent matter, perhaps this is a lesson we need to teach you!" King Kold suggested as all four of the villains rose to their feet. The Ginyu force stopped posing long enough to see their superiors rise up before they headed for the hills, somehow knowing that this wouldn't be a fight they cared to be a part of.

"I'll take care of this," Frieza said, walking forward.

"No fair, you took the last one! It's my turn!" Cooler whined.

"I'm in a bad mood as it is, don't make me take it out on you. This little peach is just what the doctor ordered!" Frieza grinned.

Lenz returned the glance, "Good, because you're the one I came to fight!"

"I see, what business do you have with me my dear? I couldn't imagine what I did to anger such a beautiful young, Saiyan?" Frieza asked suddenly when he saw the tail.

"I think you know what you've done then, and I carry the rage of two races that want your head on a platter!" she announced.

"Two? Oh I get it. Your half primate and half weakling I take it," Frieza laughed along with the others.

"No, I'm half Rotarian!" Lenz said in anger.

Frieza's frown was immediate, "So, I didn't get them all. My son must be up to his foolishness again if he's letting half-breed Saiyans run around. I thought for sure I had killed all of your people back then, I guess I missed a few!"

"If you want to know the truth, its your own fault for killing us _before_ you went to Namek, because it was the dragonballs that brought us back. That scumbag Frost still betrayed us in the end, but I thought you would like to know that it was your own fault that we survived!" Lenz explained, grinning a bit at the look of fury on Frieza's face.

"So, you're also in league with those Earth Saiyans, no matter. I doubt that will matter in the long run anyway. Now then monkey girl, would you like to witness the power your ancestors were so afraid of?" Frieza asked as his blue aura appeared.

"Bring it on you piss-ant!" Lenz shouted as she began her own power up.

"Hmmm," Cell muttered as the two finished their respective power building.

"What is it?" King Kold asked.

"They're power levels are almost equal, this might be a decent match. Unless of course Frieza wants to flaunt himself and goes past fifty percent power, I'll give the girl about nine minutes!" Cooler announced, pulling out a few gambling chips.

"I'm in! I give her six minutes before she cries for help!" King Kold announced. Cell didn't jump in and instead looked upwards, sensing that someone else was going to crash their little party soon.

_You're sick of feeling numb  
You're not the only one  
I'll take you by the hand  
And I'll show you a world that you can understand  
This life is filled with hurt  
When happiness doesn't work  
Trust me and take my hand  
When the lights go out you will understand_

Lenz was the first to act and charged towards Frieza with a flying kick. Frieza phased out just as she would have hit, reappearing about twenty feet away. Lenz recovered quickly and chased him down, missing again when he vanished.

"Argh, come on!" Lenz shouted, charging towards him again. Frieza chuckled slightly and flew backwards with his arms crossed, seeing that the girl couldn't quite keep up. At the moment he was only using about twenty percent of his full power, and the feeling of picking on a weaker fighter quickly gave him a rush he hadn't felt in awhile, despite being much stronger since being alive. He waited for Lenz to catch up before spinning and swatting her aside with his tail. Lenz groaned slightly as she held her face protectively, not expecting that kind of hit.

"I see you're not quite ready for the big leagues little girl, now would be a good time to tuck tail and run!" Frieza suggested. Lenz growled in response and flew towards him in anger, swinging towards his face with a wild punch. Frieza caught it and pulled her as he floated backwards before turning. Lenz held on in panic as Frieza swung her around several times before letting go. She nearly hit the clouds of Snake Way before regaining control of herself and flying back to him. Frieza waited patiently for her to return, before pointing towards her with one single finger when she landed. Lenz wasn't sure what to make of this until she recognized the posture and then sensed the power surge. She jumped backwards as the pink death beam exploded at her feet, stunned that she could barely see it coming. _That was one of Frost's attack moves, it must run in the family_, she thought as she carefully stood up. Frieza's grin widened as he fired several more shots just slow enough for Lenz to barely be able to dodge them. On the sixth one, he phased out just as she took her eyes off of him. Lenz was floored to the ground by a blow to her head, and Frieza planted his foot in her back, not allowing her to get up.

"That was pathetically easy, clearly your training is incomplete!" Frieza boasted. Lenz grumbled at the taunting, before powering up some more and pushing upwards. Frieza jumped off just as she started to lift them both into the air, then kicked her in the gut, sending her flying upwards with the added momentum. She came back down slowly, holding what might have been an injured rib or two as she panted a bit.

"I'll get you!" she growled, blasting off towards him again.

"Then give me your best shot peasant girl!" Frieza shouted back, holding still. Lenz flew in and swung hard, scoring with a right roundhouse kick that caught Frieza in the side. Lenz cocked a grin that faded when she saw it had little to no effect. Her aura reappeared as she started kicking like crazy, landing blow after blow on Frieza, who stood almost motionless. She finally kicked towards the side of his head, and stopped by his hand as his grin reappeared.

"Not bad for such a weakling, too bad you couldn't even make me flinch!" he said, throwing her off. Lenz was more than a little surprised at this and backed off, wondering what exactly to do next. Frieza fired another finger beam that burned off part of her hair, not letting her rest for too long. Lenz slid into a stance and drew her arms back, concentrating her power into the beam she had just learned. Her arms shook as she gathered the energy, as she was still very new to this attack.

_Pain, without love  
Pain, I can't get enough  
Pain, I like it rough  
'Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all_

"Galic Gun - FIRE!" she shouted, shooting the purple beam directly at Frieza. It torched part of the ground all the way to him, only to be batted away by a single hand upon arrival. The shocked look that she portrayed added to Frieza's overwhelming confidence.

"So, your also a student under Vegeta, that was his trademark for a long time. And it is about as outdated as it gets, what a sad attack for a desperate fighter. I'd say you haven't even mastered your own power yet, never mind that worthless attack! It doesn't matter what you do girl, I'm going to slowly rip your insides out!" Frieza shouted, phasing out. In the blink of an eye, Lenz was knocked forward by Frieza's backhand. He then wrapped his tail around her throat and punched her repeatedly in the back.

"You know, your Saiyan ancestors would have at least given me more of a fight than this. You are pathetic!" Frieza taunted as he continued to wail on her. With each blow, her anger increased along, and his taunting towards other Saiyans didn't help any matters. She cried out in pain several times, trying to get away from him, but there was no give from Frieza's grasp. She hit his tail a few times, trying to pull it off, but was unable to budge him.

"Come on girl, give it your all, you wouldn't want Vegeta to be disappointed. Even though that's all he ever was, a big disappointment. Tell me, does that rat of a prince still need help putting on his armor? A little slut like you probably fits that role nicely!" Frieza laughed. Cooler and King Kold joined in on the laughing, and the angry look in Lenz's eyes intensified ten fold. Frieza stopped beating on her when he saw the aura, but shrugged it off as part of the struggle. His cocky grin didn't last when he saw the aura change to a golden color. The transformation was immediate, and Lenz nearly ripped his tail right off as she freed herself, a look of rage that mimicked the look he had seen in Goku's eyes.

"Not another one," he muttered. Lenz screamed as she powered up, not truly knowing where this new power was coming from. She also didn't care. She was intent on making Frieza pay.

_Anger and agony  
Are better than misery  
Trust me I've got a plan  
When the lights go off you will understand_

A slightly alarmed Frieza glanced over at the others, motioning Cell over to take care of things.

Cell declined to move. "You got yourself into this mess, it's up to you to get out. The girl isn't as strong as you might think, though you may get a few bruises before this fight is over," Cell explained with a tight grin.

He was looking forward to Frieza actually having to give some effort to win a fight with a Super Saiyan. They had seen several Saiyans in the past month, all of them wanting to test their power against the one who had oppressed them for so long. Frieza was unable to fend most of them off as they attacked in groups quite often, and he would have to come in and fight them off. The occasional Saiyan had indeed reached the legendary level and Kold and Cooler were no help whatsoever, another reason Cell had to assist. The girl wasn't as strong as a few of the others, but he wasn't letting Frieza run away from this one. Kold and Cooler stepped forward to lend a hand, until Cell chopped them both in the back of the head, knocking them out. Frieza's look of shock turned to determination as Lenz stood still, letting her angry power flow through her. Frieza powered up, quickly shooting past his fifty percent power level and going for his all out maximum. His body bulked up an instant later as he pushed himself harder than he had in a long time. Lenz charged in the instant he was done powering up, nearly knocking his head off with her flying kick. Frieza flew backwards, stunned at the girl's new power, but recovered enough to block her next few hits and attack back. A vicious melee ensued where both fighters landed hard blows on each other, neither one of them bothering to block any of them.

Cell looked on from the ground, noting that the girl's power was still a bit lower than Frieza's, but not by much. If not for Frieza's newfound ambition for training ever since Buu, she would have beat him down easily and Frieza likely knew it. Lenz kicked Frieza hard across the head before locking hands in a strength test as they pushed towards each other as much as possible. The ground gave way under their combined power as the struggle continued. Lenz started losing it a bit and Frieza saw his chance. He flipped backwards while still holding on, then kicked forward, catching a surprised Lenz in the stomach again. Frieza soared into the air and bashed her back to the ground, leaving another crater behind. Lenz slowly got up, battered and bruised from the fight so far, but still determined to win it. She started gathering her power again, dropping back in the same stance. Frieza increased his power output and surrounded himself with a small energy shield as he flew towards her.

"Let's see what you've got girl!" he yelled down, drawing the thrill of a challenge from her.

"Galic Gun!" she shouted back, firing a much larger and more powerful beam this time. Frieza flew straight at it and pushed ahead just as it hit, causing a power struggle between his flight and her beam. Both he and Lenz pushed themselves hard to win, but Lenz pushed a little too hard. She overpowered the beam with most of her remaining energy, and Frieza saw it coming early. He dodged aside and went around as the beam sailed harmlessly into the sky. Lenz couldn't react in time and was floored by Frieza's attack, sending her bouncing over the wasteland. Frieza caught up quickly and stepped down hard on her head as she cried out in pain. He stomped again and nearly knocked her out, seeing her hair turn back to its dark purple color.

"It seems that I am the winner here little girl. I guess you're not quite as powerful as other Super Saiyans, now it's time to take my trophy. Being a merciful lord, I'll only take your tail this time, you won't need that anymore!" he chuckled as he reached down. Lenz screamed for him to stop, but it only hastened his actions as he pulled it from around her waist and squeezed hard. She stopped struggling instantly, unfortunately succumbing to the weakness that most Saiyans had.

"A pretty purple color too, I wonder what this will sell for on the galactic market, muhahahaha!" Frieza laughed as he tightened his grip. He felt a few bones in the tail pop, and Lenz cried out in pain once again, despite the paralysis.

"Oops, I guess I'll be keeping it since a broken tail isn't worth much!" he cackled as he swung down hard with his other hand, cutting most her tail off. She screamed in pain as she crawled away, holding what was left protectively as Frieza swung the remains around like a toy, occasionally wrapping it around his arm. She broke down then, the overwhelming shame of defeat got to her and she cried softly.

_Pain, without love  
Pain, I can't get enough  
Pain, I like it rough  
'Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all_

"Aw, isn't that sad, the little monkey has lost her tail and can't go on without it. What a joke! I'm glad I got rid of most of the Saiyans so many years ago, it saved me the trouble of throwing up every time one of them cried!" he said. Lenz stopped immediately and wiped her face off, glaring fiercely at Frieza. She powered up suddenly, reassuming the Super Saiyan stage and pushing with any power she could find. She blazed towards him and punched hard across his face. Her fist left a slight dent, until he turned his head back towards her, letting his grin grow somehow larger.

"That was not smart girl, you should have left when you had the chance!" he suggested. Lenz dropped in pain in a flash as he punched her stomach hard, her hair turning back to dark purple instantly as she had very little power left. Frieza grabbed her around the throat with one hand, and then ripped part of her clothing off a second later, exposing her chest.

"My my, it's too bad our races aren't compatible, you would have made a splendid slave girl for my private chambers back when we were alive. Still, I guess I could use you to supply my form of pleasure. I find strong attractive girls to be very appealing, even if they are Saiyans! The first time can be a little rough though, let's see what happens," he said, grabbing at her. Lenz kicked him in response as she tried to get away, but it was no use, he wasn't letting go. He walked towards Cell as he shifted hands to only hold her up by the back of the neck, grinning quite brightly at his new prize.

"I suggest you put her down Frieza," Cell warned.

"What's wrong with a little slave girl? I haven't had one in years!" he said.

"It's not that, but I expect the boy will remove your head within the next few minutes if you don't," Cell suggested, looking up in the sky. Frieza looked up in question as well, before a look of fear settled in on his face and he dropped Lenz. Up in the sky, was an angry looking Verto.

"Oh shit…" Frieza gulped slightly.

-

I managed to keep from turning Frieza into a multi-colored cloud of mist right away, as he was still a bit too close to Lenz. That and after what I had seen him do to her, I wasn't in the mood to end it quickly. He had done much more than was necessary to end the fight, and I was intent on making him pay for it, not simply give him a generous death. I saw him shiver slightly as I lowered to the ground, letting him take in my angry glare. He attempted to gather himself and remain strong, but I sensed whatever bravery he had left was going to melt away once I took one step closer.

"What do you want boy? Can't you see I'm busy?" he asked.

"Step away from the girl, right now," I said calmly.

He charged some power into his finger and held it over her, "Or what?" he asked with a grin. In her current condition I doubted that she would withstand what he was threatening to throw at her.

"Do you really want to go that far?" I asked as I cracked my knuckles a bit. Frieza started laughing, and I had a pretty good feeling that he might do something stupid. I growled a bit and prepared a counter, but was struck with my own surprise once my power level went up just slightly. My hands suddenly glowed blue as I released some Psi energy and let it hover over Lenz's prone form, just to be on the safe side. The fact that they were still glowing afterwards surprised me a bit, and I felt ready to unleash any sort of attack on him at any second. They had never glowed like that before unless I was storing a lot of energy for a powerful punch or energy blast. _Okay, whatever's going on will have to wait, I have a fool to take to school. _

"Go ahead boy, I'll be glad to end her existence right now if you get any closer!" Frieza dared. I took one step forward and he charged up more ki into his hand, ready to fire his death beam. I remained calm and started moving the invisible energy, rotating it above Lenz, barely three inches away from Frieza's hand.

"I don't suggest you fire that," I said, staying still.

"Watch me boy!" he shouted, lifting it for a moment and then letting loose. Just as I sensed the power from his finger stirring, I ignited a small Psi bolt from the energy field to counter it, striking Frieza's finger before his beam ever came out.

"OW! What the hell was that?" Frieza asked as his beam dispersed and he turned his gaze away from me, his big mistake. I flew in and punched him lightly in the stomach, almost breaking through the skin layers. I followed through and watched as his face fell into surprised agony. Tiny lightning-like ribbons of energy came off my blue implanted fist as I removed it and landed a spinning sidekick with the opposite foot, sending him flying backwards through the air and into the ground about a hundred feet away. I stared at my hand for a moment, realizing how much damage I had just caused with minimal effort. _My energy is all ready to go once I started powering up, it must be due to all the meditation lately, I wonder how it will do with ki and Chi._

_I know  
That you're wounded  
You know  
That I'm here to save you  
You know  
I'm always here for you  
I know  
That you'll thank me later_

"You alright?" I asked, spotting what was left of her tail next to her, as Frieza had dropped it.

"I've been better," she muttered as she struggled to move.

"Turn around, I think I can fix this," I said, carefully picking up the dark purple length of fur. My hands glowed green once I started powering Chi into them, answering my previous question instantly.

"What? That's impossible! Just leave me be!" she claimed, groaning slightly as she sat up.

"Trust me," I said, as I lifted her removed tail to the remaining roots and started channeling Chi energy into it. I carefully thought about what I was trying to do and kept my warm energy flowing over it. I sensed it start to pull together and heal as the tail regained its own power to move on its own. I stopped and let go of it when I heard her gasp in surprise.

"Wow, I can't believe you saved it! I thought for sure it was gone for good! Thanks a lot, I know I don't deserve it after coming down here," she said, glancing downwards.

"Hey, someone has to watch your back. Don't worry about it right now, I'm not really that angry with you. You achieved Super Saiyan long before I expected you to and I'm proud of you for that, even if it was a bit premature. As long as you learn from your mistakes," I explained, giving her a warm smile.

"I don't suppose you can heal the rest of me?" she asked.

"That I'm not going to do, a Saiyan gets stronger when recovering from injuries slowly, healing you now and restoring your power wouldn't mean a whole lot. Like I said, its your lesson to learn," I explained, shaking my head slightly.

"What's with the glowing fists?" she asked, intrigued by them.

"I'm not really sure, but I think it's due to all that meditation lately. Take that as a lesson that it pays off," I suggested, still unsure myself. I powered down completely, but didn't see the glow from my hands truly vanish until I suppressed my energy a little more. _Yep, definitely a side effect from all of that meditation. _

"I don't suppose you have extra clothes, do you?" she asked, realizing that her shirt had been torn off and she was basically half nude. Considering her past, I doubted that it bothered her that much, but then again I also doubted she was still the same person. I pulled off my green shirt and handed it to her. That left me with just my heavy blue shirt, but I wasn't going to need the extra speed to deal with Frieza.

"You can wear that for the time being. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some last minute details to take care of," I said.

"It's a little tight across the chest," she complained. _Yeah I wonder why, probably too much hot air built up from an argument or two._ I shook that thought off as I turned towards Frieza, who was struggling to move after I almost left a hole in his gut. He was also coughing up a decent amount of blood onto the ground, but most of it trickled out of his mouth and down his neck. I floated over slowly, casting a warning glare towards Cell, who didn't look like he was going to jump in. If anything he looked anxious to see what I was going to do to Frieza. He wasn't going to be disappointed.

_Pain, without love  
Pain, can't get enough  
Pain, I like it rough  
'Cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all_

_--_

"_Pain_" by Three Days Grace

--

"Please, I beg, of you!" he coughed out as I stepped down hard on his stomach.

"You, beg me for forgiveness? Spare me the desperate ritual. I don't recall you showing her any mercy, nor anyone else!" I shouted angrily at him. He was dripping with fear now, a complete contradiction from a few moments prior.

"I was going to let you off the hook with a minor injury, but you just had to take things further than was necessary. Now you're going to regret hurting and humiliating my student," I growled. The look of shock from Frieza's face didn't cease, and panic only increased as he tried to crawl away.

"I'm sorry, I'll never do it again!" he said quickly, terrified when my suppressed energy came back out and caused my hands to glow blue again.

"You think I'm going to accept an apology? Where was that when you killed millions of people? Where was that when you blew up whole planets just for the fun of it? What makes you think you deserve mercy after all that you've done?" I asked in anger. Frieza kept up his façade, saying sorry over and over again. I glanced at Cell, who only shook his head in response of how pathetic Frieza had become.

"You're not worth the effort, get out of my sight!" I warned as I removed my boot and walked back towards Lenz. I sensed Frieza get up and start gathering his power, so I detected the next stupid move before he even began.

Lenz had a look of genuine fear as Frieza finished his attack, "Look out!" she shouted, pointing towards Frieza. I stopped walking as I sighed, the fool was going to make it harder on himself.

"I've had enough of you boy! Now it's your turn to feel pain! Kienzan Disc!" he shouted, letting go of his attack. I quickly summoned my Psi sword and turned around, spotting the pink spinning disc heading my way. I straightened out and swung forward, stopping the disc in its tracks with the tip of my sword. Once I felt that the disc's momentum was stopped, I swung through and sliced it apart, watching as it dispersed into thin air. The look of shock from Frieza returned, but quickly turned into pain when I threw my sword at him like a javelin. He simply fell backwards with a gaping hole in his stomach as my sword vanished. I heard him muttering something, but in a different language.

"I warned you," I said, kneeling down next to his prone form and pulling back my arm to punch him again. I had skewered right through his insides and had likely hit some sort of primary nerve, he wasn't able to move an inch.

"You - you'll pay for this, I swear you will!" he threatened.

"Oh really. That will be a little difficult to make me pay all the way from Hell, don't you think?" I asked as I gazed through the hole in his gut.

"That's not what I mean. Your planet is doomed! Even now, my son prepares to attack Earth. He will wipe all of you out!" Frieza claimed.

"What makes you so sure about that?" I asked.

"Because a few of his officers were killed during his combat with the son of Goku, they informed me of it. And as I understand, even the absurd strength of that little son of a bitch wasn't able to stand up to Frost's power! You will all be killed and my son will wish our family back to life with the dragonballs! The Kold empire will rule the galaxy once again!" Frieza boasted, almost laughing despite the amount of pain he was in.

"We'll see about that, until then, I hope you won't miss your intestines too much!" I growled, plunging my hand into the hole I had left. He screamed in pain as I pulled out a long and rope like organ, similar a human's small intestine, only this one was green. Lightning crackled through him as I yanked out Frieza's insides out and tossed them around the grounds nearby. I got up and walked away, attempting to control myself from taking things much further. My over-protectiveness for someone close to me had already kicked in with Lenz apparently, and I didn't want it to spark something worse later on. It was bad enough it was generating some sort of unknown effect that clearly enabled me to quickly charge my attacks and cause a lot more damage. _Maybe it's a side effect from learning how the Dragon Fist works, I'll have to look into this further_, I thought as I walked back towards Lenz. Frieza hadn't had enough apparently, because his mouth was still moving.

"What's wrong boy, can't you finish the job, or are you too weak?" he sputtered out. I stopped in my tracks in slight anger, resisting the urge to finish him off. _He just doesn't learn, well, time for another wound for him to think about._ I turned on my heel and drew my sword again, watching Frieza's eyes fill up with fear again. I hadn't noticed before, but concentrating my sword was extremely easy now that my hands were sparkling with power. It usually took me at least a second or so to have my sword out and ready to go, this time it was nearly instant. As was my next attack.

"You just don't know when to shut up do you?" I asked, stepping on his tail. He groaned and tried to crawl away, but I would have none of it. I stabbed downwards through his tail, watching as the blood and other material melted apart and evaporated into the outside. I held the thick tail steady and cut a smooth hole a few inches wide, leaving enough of it behind to hold together and give him misery for awhile. He screamed loudly the entire time like a little girl, ironic considering the situation. When I was done, I left two inch wide, two-foot long oval shaped hole in Frieza's tail, and was able to see all the way through it when I held it up to examine. He flinched slightly afterwards, muttering random words that I didn't recognize.

"I thought about just removing it like you did to her, but that wouldn't mean much later on. Either way, here's the lesson Frieza, and you better write this one down. It's called don't piss me off! Next time I do this to your head, remember that!" I warned as I dropped his tail and headed off. I walked up to Lenz, who looked like she could manage flying back, barely.

"Thanks, bro," Lenz said with a slight smile. I lifted an eyebrow to this amusing response, she had always included the word 'little' every time previously.

"Let's go," I replied, floating upwards.

**Power levels:**

**Frieza (20 percent power): 11,000,000; Maximum: 55,000,000**

**Lenz: 7,000,000; Super Saiyan: 45,000,000**

**Verto: 306,000,000**

**Next time on DBV: Bulma stumbles upon the virus and tries her best to find an answer before it wipes out the human race. What she finds is that everyone is already infected and that it's only a matter of time. Meanwhile, Verto begins to finalize his training, but fails Dabura's final lesson despite doing everything correctly. When Dabura figures out why, he is none too happy, and confronts the Supreme Kai about it.**


	37. Outbreak

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 36: Outbreak**

"Wake up big brother, I want my breakfast!" Goten shouted happily as he pounced onto Gohan's bed. Instead of the usual response of a light groan, Goten was viscously shoved off. He shook it off, but still held a slight concern for this unexpected response.

"Big Brother?" Goten asked innocently.

"What the hell do you want?" came the growl.

"I just want my breakfast! Don't you have to go to school anyway? It's Tuesday!" Goten declared.

A slight snort came from under the blankets, "All right, give me a minute!"

"Yay!" Goten shouted as he left and ran down the stairs in anticipation.

"Brat," he said as he slowly crawled out of bed. He glared at Gohan's reflection in the mirror for a second, but lightened the stare into a dark grin. _It seems I've adjusted to this body quite nicely, time to start getting rid of some of these bothersome annoyances,_ Viro thought as he slowly dressed himself. He heard the phone ringing a moment later as he slowly walked down the stairs.

"Gohan, that was your school. It seems they've called off school for a few days. I guess a lot of kids have been getting sick lately and they want to reduce exposure to everyone else. Awfully thoughtful of them, I feel bad for your classmates though," Chichi explained.

"Yes, how unfortunate," Viro said, trying not to grin too much. Chichi narrowed her eyes slightly at the tone coming from her son, but let it slide.

"Well, they are shipping your schoolwork out to here so you can keep up. It should be here later today," Chichi said as she turned to finish cooking breakfast. Viro rolled his eyes slightly when she had her back turned.

"Gohan, since you're going to be home, can we play all day today?" Goten asked excitedly.

"Sure kid, we'll have lots of fun," Viro chuckled.

--

"I'd hate to ask a favor of you Miss Bulma, since you have already done so much for mankind. But this crazy virus has already wiped out thousands of people with no real signs of stopping. Can you please try to find a cure for it?" King Furry asked over the phone. Bulma sighed slightly, as she had been expecting this call several weeks ago.

"Yes sir, I'll do all that I can! Can you please send over a shipment of fresh blood samples so I can get to work?" Bulma requested.

"It's already on the way, good day to you," Furry said, hanging up.

"I take it his best scientists have either died or are completely baffled," Doctor Briefs asked.

"Pretty much both, I imagine. I guess it's a good thing we got a head start on him last week," Bulma said.

"Yes, it sure is, I'll be in the lab looking over the viral fragments from the victims, but we aren't going to be able to figure this thing out from the dead victim autopsies. The faster that shipment gets here, the better," he said, walking off just as Vegeta entered the room.

"I take it that fur ball contacted you because his top scientists are incompetent fools?" Vegeta said with a tight smirk.

"Honestly Vegeta, can you keep the insults off the table for at least a little while, this is a huge threat to the human population! This virus travels faster than any we have ever seen before, and it is popping up all over the place with no connections! I can't overestimate the potential danger of it because it kills the victims within a week!" Bulma explained.

"As long as it doesn't affect you or my family, I could care less," Vegeta muttered as he walked off.

"Argh, typical," Bulma sighed. It had been just about five-and-a-half-months since Vegeta and the others had returned from space. She was quite saddened to hear about Verto and the other Saiyans, but knew things would be all right in the long run. In fact, she was looking quite forward to using the dragonballs in a few weeks and getting everyone back from the dead. Getting Videl back would mean a lot right now, considering the situation. Gohan had come back a changed man, she wasn't sure if it was the stress of the war or something else, but he was definitely different than before. Bulma was very accustomed to Gohan's personality through thick and thin, and he wasn't acting like himself, no matter how many times he denied it. And it wasn't just because of Videl's death, something else had changed him. He seemed unsettled, unusually confident, and easily agitated at times. While he sounded like he wanted to get into a scrap at anytime with just about anyone, he denied every sparring match offered to him shortly after his bout with his father and Vegeta in the time chamber. Vegeta tried to entice him into one with random insults, but he didn't even acknowledge the Saiyan prince. Gohan wasn't the only one who seemed like a changed man, as Bardock had "borrowed" a spaceship from her and headed into space suddenly one morning. He didn't say why, or even where he was going, but it happened shortly after Gohan's vicious outburst. He did say that he would be back soon, but nothing more past that. Bulma shook her head slightly, there were more pressing matters to worry about right now.

About a month after their return, isolated reports of a new lethal virus had sprung up. This virus didn't behave like a normal virus does when jumping from victim to victim. There was nothing common about the victim's DNA or blood type that made them susceptible to it either, they simply got sick, went into a coma, and died within a week. Bulma was sure it wasn't an airborne virus either, as most of the human population would have contracted it long ago considering where it had been popping up. And until two weeks ago, it had remained isolated and scattered, and then a massive outbreak hit North City and more than half of the citizens died from it. Another batch in Satan City also fell to the virus, and it appeared that things were going to get out of control soon if something wasn't done. She walked slowly back to her lab, hearing the baby crying from her crib, most likely for a bottle of milk. Bulla was indeed hungry and was fed promptly while Bulma thought things over while fending off Bulla's twitching tail. That was the other thing, Bulla had a very bad tantrum when Gohan visited not long ago and the tail grew back. She had it removed early so there wouldn't be much pain later on, but not by the roots, so this wasn't a huge surprise. What surprised Bulma was because Bulla was generally calm with everyone unless she wanted something. It certainly wasn't the first time that she had met Gohan, but it was after his strange attitude appeared. Bulma shook it off as nerves for both of them. Once the baby was fed, Bulma resumed her pondering until the shipment arrived. She saw what it did on the outside, but now that the King had granted her the rights to conduct her own investigation, she could witness its destructive power first hand under the microscope.

It only took about an hour for a cargo hold full of fresh samples to arrive, and Bulma set about isolating the virus first. Once she had enough of it in a safe solution, she tested it on the clean blood that was sent over from a few blood banks. When she injected it into a clean batch of blood, she found that the viral cells demolished the other cells in a heartbeat, leaving nothing behind. And then they destroyed each other slowly, until there were only a few stray viral strains left behind. Bulma was instantly bewildered at this development, trying to figure out this kind of behavior. She had seen the usual cycle, attack, multiply and destroy many times over, but these virus strains almost competed for survival, the strongest would survive. _Just like a Saiyan, I suppose. Vegeta always said that if the Saiyans had ever conquered the whole galaxy, that their society might collapse due to having no enemies._ She sighed - she had been unable to see how the damn virus traveled, which was a huge key in developing a cure or at least a suppressant. At times it looked to be airborne, and others it looked to be by body fluid transfer. The only sense she could make of that was the skin color changes that happened with nearly every victim, as they often bruised easily from internal bleeding and even bled out in some cases after being poked with a needle. Even then though, nothing seemed to be significant enough to determine the method of travel, it literally could have been all of those ways. She shared her findings with her father, who didn't have much luck in determining its origins either. From what they could tell, this virus seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. There was nothing like it on Earth, anywhere, and yet, here it was. She considered calling Gohan now, knowing that he had been in Frost's base and hearing that he had indeed been sick for a few days afterwards. Just as she picked up the phone though, an icy feeling went through her. _Wait a second, if Gohan accidentally brought this back from space, that means both humans and Saiyans may be vulnerable to it. But we were all around him first and none of us have gotten sick yet._

Her eyes whirled over towards Bulla's crib, and fell upon the child's tail that was twitching like a monkey on angel dust. She knew that a Saiyan's tail was part of the body's defense system, so if Bulla had this virus, it would surely be going crazy, just like it was. Bulma grabbed a syringe, intent on examining her daughter first, but then stopped, not wanting to inflict any pain on her just yet. She changed her mind and tied a tourniquet around her own arm instead, drawing a sample of her own blood. When she placed the sample under the scope, she drew in a deep breath and looked in. At first she didn't see anything abnormal, making her sigh with relief as she scanned the entire slide. But then she spotted a few stray strains of material that looked exactly like the virus. She gasped and almost made herself vomit at the sudden knowledge of infection. She let it pass for a moment as she wiped a tear or two from her eyes before looking again. She noticed all of the blood cells were moving around normally, but the viral strands were not moving an inch towards them. _They're dormant?_ She took the slide out and made a fresh one from her blood batch, examining it again just in case there was a mistake. She saw the same thing in the next slide, and then dumped her vial of blood into the master computer's scanners. She found only a few thousands strains in her blood sample, all of them dormant with no signs of waking up. She then took a drop of the active virus and placed it on her own blood slides. The reaction was immediate, the active virus wiped out all living cells including itself in a matter of minutes. _This means that everyone on Earth could be infected and we just don't know it. A dormant virus still leaves us with time, but the question is how much? I've got to find out what turns this virus on._

-

"Okay, were there any strange circumstances that these people were in when they got sick? Were they playing sports, out in the sun too long maybe? Drink something they weren't accustomed to? Anything strange at all?" Bulma asked over the phone. The scientist on the other end wasn't sure what to make of this, but supplied what information he had.

"As far as we can tell, there were no anomalies with this virus. The victims were all random and all different from each other. It didn't matter if they were in good or bad shape, nor their age groups or ethnic backgrounds. This thing has hit just about every type of person there is!" he explained.

"I see, thank you," Bulma said, hanging up. She hadn't told anyone of her findings just yet, but only because she needed more information. She had called Vegeta down for a blood sample, but the high and mighty prince wasn't willing, saying that no virus would ever take him down. She had to settle for Trunks, she didn't want to put up with her baby crying while she was trying to focus. Once she got a sample of Trunks' blood, she sent him on his way, not wanting him to worry about what she had discovered. She tested his blood and examined it as well, finding quite a number of dormant viral strands.

"Damnit!" she cried aloud, kicking the side of her desk in frustration. Just to be sure, she also mixed Trunks' sample with the active virus. The reaction was much slower than before, but the virus eventually conquered the blood of the half Saiyan as well. If not for determination to see what would stand up to this virus, Bulma was ready to break down at any moment. She wanted to get a sample of a pure Saiyan's blood, and she knew both Goku and her husband were not going to cooperate. Then she recalled that she still had a sample of Verto's blood when he had first arrived almost two years ago. She rushed down to her father's lab to retrieve it, in hopes that it was still good. She pulled it from the cool storage and drew a sample right away, seeing that it was indeed still good enough to use. She also noticed that there were no viral strains within it at all, a fact she confirmed when she had her computer scan it, making her feel much better about the possibility that perhaps human bodies were just shutting down on their own. She injected a portion of the active virus into it and watched carefully. It took a moment, but the viral strains went after the red blood cells quickly. Any white blood cells around immediately attacked and fought them off better than the pure human or hybrid T-cells had so far. But in the end, it didn't matter, the virus still won and wiped out everything in the sample. Bulma sighed as she lit a cigarette, it was up to her to find a cure for this virus, and she didn't think there was one.

--

Another two days passed by, and Bulma furiously stuck to all forms of caffeine to keep awake as she struggled to find an inoculate to combat the virus. She hadn't slept a wink ever since she began her investigation, mostly in fear that she would never wake up. She had fresh blood samples of healthy people delivered to her without being examined before hand, all of them tested positive even though they weren't sick. She didn't bother to tell anyone of this yet, not until she could find a solution. She did however take notice that no blood donations older than five months old were infected, which evolved her theory about Gohan and the others a bit. Hours passed by as she tried every form of medication she had ever heard of on the virus, with little to no effect at all. She lost more and more hope as she moved to experimental drugs that hadn't even been tested yet, to no avail. She almost considered calling Vegeta in to hit the virus with his big bang attack, but calmed herself before she resorted to something stupid like that. Vegeta had stopped by a few times to check on her, wondering himself what had gotten her into such an uproar over what he considered a minor investigation. He understood her distress, a virus that could wipe out all of the humans wasn't exactly a thrilling concept to him either, but a virus was an enemy he could not see or fight against. He kept Trunks away from her and even took over baby chores for a few hours at a time, as his wife needed to work through this on her own. When he came back at the start of the third day and found her sleeping, he took the initiative to look over her notes so far in the computer. She hadn't written hardly anything down, except what sort of medicines did not work against it, and it was too long of a list for him to look over.

He shook her awake, "Woman, you need some sleep. I suggest you get to bed. You're no good to anyone exhausted!"

"That's okay, I imagine I'll get plenty of sleep soon enough. We all will," she yawned.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"I'm infected Vegeta," she said simply, she had no real good way to break it to him.

"What, how? Did you get near any of those sick weaklings?" he asked in slight anger.

"No, you don't understand. I'm infected, so is Trunks and Bulla, and as far as I can tell, so is everyone else on the planet! That includes you as well," she explained.

"What?" he gasped.

"I haven't been able to confirm it with you, Bardock or Goku yet, but as far as I can tell, Saiyans and hybrids are just as susceptible to this bug as humans are," she continued.

"Impossible! I refuse to believe that!" he growled.

"Well, you can give me a blood sample now, but I doubt it'll matter," she yawned again. Vegeta held out his arm without hesitation, and she lazily grabbed a needle and commenced with Operation Stabbing as he flinched a bit. After going through about a dozen needles, Vegeta finally cut himself with his nails and she used that for a sample instead. Vegeta hovered over her shoulder while she examined his blood. It didn't take long for her to find exactly what she was looking for.

"Yeah, it's there," she said, ducking slightly to avoid the explosion. It never came - in fact he stayed relatively calm considering the situation.

"So, is there a cure?" he asked.

"Not that I can find, I've tried just about every pharmaceutical there is and even a handful that aren't out on the market yet. Nothing works on his thing, and once the virus becomes active inside its host, it destroys everything in sight, and then turns on itself, as if to wipe out the evidence. It is unlike anything I have ever seen before," Bulma explained.

"What about Super Saiyans, can we stand up to it or at least fend it off?" Vegeta asked.

"You train in that form every day and I'm still detecting thousands of strains. If that transformation wiped it out, we would know. This thing has been in everyone's system for awhile, and seems to randomly become active," Bulma continued, suddenly pondering her previous theories.

"Can you at least tell me how long this thing has been on Earth?" he asked. Bulma didn't answer for a moment, but then looked him directly in the eye with a suspicious glance.

"Tell me, did the Protoss find anything strange on Gohan when he returned from fighting this Frost character?" she asked.

Vegeta caught on pretty quickly. "No, why?"

"I have been looking over old blood samples, and every sample taken before you guys got back is clean, absolutely no trace of the virus! Since we have never seen anything like this before, is it possible that it was engineered by Frost?" she asked.

"It is possible, however unlikely. Policy of the empire basically outlawed all forms of viral and other biological weapons. Frieza eliminated many species that deployed such dishonorable weapons, mostly because Changelings were known to have average immune systems, much like humans. Most of their race was wiped out by biological warfare several hundred years ago, thus why the Kold Empire never allowed it. Since that time though, many of their enemies developed these weapons, and it was a big reason why Frieza hired the Saiyans to wipe them out. Our strong immune systems tend to stand up to viruses that would wipe out anyone else. Frieza had himself vaccinated for thousands of types of lethal viruses after he blew up the home world just in case, but no one ever had the guts to go after him. However, if Frost is desperate enough, he may resort to it. There were many things he didn't agree with his father on, and war strategy was a big one," Vegeta answered.

"I see. Well, I guess I'll inform the King with the bad news, right after a hot shower," Bulma said, walking off. Vegeta however picked up the phone and dialed the one number he knew by heart.

When the desired voice answered, he took a deep breath. "Kakarot, we need to meet with the Namek regarding your son!"

**Interlude 36.1 –Matter-Energy Conversion- **

I was sparring with Lenz for the umpteenth day in a row when Dabura paid me a visit. Lenz had improved a great deal since her defeat at the hands of Frieza, and became disciplined enough for lessons of power moves. The only real lesson I gave her though was how to use the Kaioken technique, everything else she could just witness enough times to copy it herself. She really liked my Final Shine blast, even though I hadn't used it very much as it was much different than its predecessors. I suppose being a basic combination of Vegeta's major attacks plus one from Piccolo's array was slightly appealing to her. I had polished it a lot more since my first one against Janemba, it was a hell of a lot controlled and concentrated now. Other than learning Kaioken and some power beams, the one thing I had her work on the most was achieving Full Power in the Super Saiyan stage. I knew she could do it the instant she transformed for the first time, the potential just oozed out more and more every day. When she finally got to that point though, it just stopped. It was one of the strangest things I had ever sensed before. I swore I felt that I could get an ascended Saiyan out of her before long, and then it was just gone once she topped out. I thought that maybe I had overestimated her potential, but it was hard to tell once I couldn't sense it anymore. Her power had increased a great deal though and she had shot past Videl in a hurry after the Frieza fight, so it wasn't a total loss I suppose. I considered pushing her a bit more to see if we could pull it off, but I felt I had put her through enough for now.

I myself had gotten very accustomed to channeling Chi power much like she had with her Super Saiyan stage. My power had also gone up, just not as dramatically, not that I expected it too. I doubted there was such a stage as Super Mystic Full Power, or even beyond that, so I was satisfied with my progress, as were the Kais. I was taken up to the sacred planet for a test, managing to channel Kaioken while in Super Mystic form for up to two minutes at a time without a huge amount of trouble. I may not have been able to handle it for very long, but the point was that I could handle it. The other thing I was adjusting to was the whole issue with the glowing hands, I had never seen that before, at least not with consistency. I thought it had been a slight side effect with my emotional state at the time, as I was pretty angry with Frieza, but that wasn't it either. Sure I had seen it many times with myself and others when they were charging a big attack or forcing all of their power into one blow, but this was constantly going on without much effort. They glowed either gold, blue or green depending on what energy I was using at the time. The more I meditated and eventually practiced any sort of blast or attack, the more they glowed. When I asked the Kais about it, they only chuckled and congratulated me on mastering my power. I had scowled a bit at this, but they did have a point. Every attack or action that required energy became excessively easier to do ever since that angry run in with Frieza. I accepted this and went back to King Kai's place, slightly bored that I still had a little while to go and I was already done. When Dabura showed up again though, I had a sneaking suspicion that perhaps I had only cracked part of the wall. He asked to see me alone and led me back to the barren wastelands where he had trained me before.

"I have one final lesson for you to learn. However, I don't know if you can do this yet. Most mortals cannot," he began.

"Big surprise there. What is it?" I asked.

"No doubt by now you have sensed myself and the Kai's use our Chi energy to create objects?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, but I can't quite tell how its done," I said.

"Understandably, most of the time we use our energy to transform air matter into these objects, their size, shape, appearance and durability, depending on how much energy is expelled, but it generally requires a miniscule amount. But it does take extreme concentration," he explained.

"Are you saying that if I wanted a new set of clothes, I could create them myself?" I asked.

"You have that potential. If you can channel Chi energy better than any of the immortal beings up here, you can certainly materialize a few articles of clothing. However, since you are not an immortal being, I am uncertain about it," he stated.

"Well, I guess it never hurts to try, tell me what to do," I said, taking a seat.

"Remove your weighted shirt, we'll start with that," he ordered. I did so, dropping it on the ground in front of me and focusing on it.

"Now, channel a small amount of energy into it and use it to change the properties of the shirt by using your imagination," he suggested.

"That sounds a little peculiar, don't you think?" I asked.

"Be that as it may, your power and thoughts are nearly one when you concentrate hard enough at this level. I want you to change its color, just close your eyes," he said. I did so, while letting a small amount of energy flow gently through the shirt, picturing a yellow shirt instead. It wasn't out of desire for that color, but it would be a drastic difference.

"Now open your eyes," he said. I did so and stared wide eyed at the yellow shirt sitting in front of me as I removed my green glowing hands.

"That was easy," I said.

"Clothing usually is. Now, concentrate your energy into a pattern in the empty air space. Try to materialize a sword for starters," he suggested. I shut my eyes again as I maneuvered a thin energy field into the air, picturing a thick silver sword with a brown handle, similar to the sword Future Trunks possessed.

"Have you got a good idea of its size and shape?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, opening my eyes.

"Then do it!" he said.

"I thought I did," I said, glancing up towards my energy field. There was nothing there, other than the traces of Chi that I was moving around with my mind.

"Hmmm. Maybe we should make this simpler. Try concentrating your energy sword into a solid one in your hands, it might be easier that way," he suggested. I did as he asked and concentrated for about thirty seconds, but the only thing I got was an extremely bright green energy blade.

"I figured as much," Dabura sighed with a deep frown.

"What's that?" I asked as I shut off my Chi sword.

"One of two possibilities. Either you can't do this because you are a mortal being. Or there is an outside force that prevents you from doing this. Try your shirt again, concentrate and increase its density and mass to make it heavier and more durable!" he ordered. I did as he said, channeling my energy through the shirt again, and making sure I changed its color back to blue while I was at it. I even used my spiritual vision to make sure it was changing on the outside. I imagined it weighing about a thousand pounds or so, and heard the ground crack an instant later as the gravity kicked in. I opened my eyes again to see that I was indeed successful, and noticed a serious load of weight when I picked the shirt up.

"Okay, so far it seems you can't manipulate invisible matter such as air, only existing physical matter so far," he said, accessing his own energy for the moment. He created a spear and tossed it to the ground in front of me.

"Try changing that into a sword like you tried before," he ordered. I repeated the steps and even imagined it vanishing and reappearing as a sword. When I opened my eyes, I still saw a spear.

"Very strange, and very annoying. You should be able to do this fully. It isn't you though, it is some sort of restricting force put on you," he said with an angry expression.

"Who would do that, the Kais? I mean, even Piccolo and the other Nameks can materialize stuff! And they're just as mortal as I am," I said.

"That is true, but they are also a highly developed species. I doubt it was the Kais, not without wiping your memory clean or something. No, this can only be the work of someone much higher than that. The only thing is, whoever it was would have had to get very close to you due to your high power and resistance. Either they did it recently in your sleep, or possessed knowledge of the future and did this long ago. Makes me wonder if that old fossil actually did this!" he concluded, looking ready to explode any second.

"I wouldn't doubt that. I was asleep for half of that unleashing ceremony after all," I grumbled.

"All right then, I want you to master this technique on yourself and others eventually. If clothing is the best you can do, then so be it!" he ordered.

"What about this issue I'm having with the constant glowing hands. Sure it looks cool, but it's kind of annoying and it could tip off an enemy," I said, casting an eyebrow up at the elder demon.

"Oh that, I imagine that is just a side effect from your diverse amount of training. As I'm sure you've noticed, it enhances your physical attacks by a great deal, and enables you to quickly use any sort of energy attack. Again, it might also be a side effect from being a mortal with this kind of power. As I've said before, it is very rare. Look at it this way, your energy attacks have been lacking speed for a long time, this will help you a great deal," he pointed out.

"A side effect that enhances my attack power and attack speed, how generous," I muttered.

"It's not something to just wave off. From what I've seen, energy manipulation seems to be your specialty. While most warriors excel in one thing or another, it is usually something very particular like a technique. I suppose you are becoming a lot like that Protoss warrior Aldaris. He seemed to be very adept with energy manipulation once he discovered his power," Dabura said, bringing up the past again.

"Yeah, I noticed," I groaned.

"As you also likely noticed, you can create your mystic energy waves much easier than before when this started. Be thankful that you discovered and mastered this in your own controlled training rather than in a desperate situation like before. That is all I have for you. Your training is as complete as it's going to get. Proceed at your own discretion from now on!" he said, pointing towards the exit. He looked to be very frustrated about something, and as curious as I was to this so-called higher power interference, I really didn't want to ask. I had enough stress to deal with after all. _I suppose the glowing hands thing could be called the Mystic Wave Effect with the increase in attack power and speed. At the very least, it could be used in multiple ways to fool an enemy if I use different attacks from it._

-

I mastered the technique of modifying clothing pretty easily, and was even able to repair torn shirts and fighting outfits very easily. I couldn't do boots though, it might have been the metal, though I wasn't sure. I could handle shoes just fine, but they were also cloth and stitching, which appeared to make it easier. I considered asking King Kai about it, but when I explained what Dabura had told me, he was just as confused. I shrugged it off for now; weapon creation wasn't something I really needed with my current ability. The clothing thing would be very handy, as I wouldn't have to worry about what I was wearing. And if I didn't want to have a certain shirt on, or needed to repair torn clothes, no problem. I found that even if the shirt was torn to shreds, I could stretch it out and expand it back to normal with little to no effort as long as there was some existing material. So, I mastered that little technique easily enough, though I was very curious about playing around with changing the air into material. It didn't matter how much I tried or how hard I concentrated though, I still couldn't create anything from plain old air. I let that frustrate me for a few days while I had Lenz spar with Pikkon to further test herself.

The only technique that worked and manipulated the air really well was my Status field technique, and it only super cooled it to a freezing point and formed ice. I knew I needed to develop a faster method of delivering that particular attack, but wasn't sure how. Then I played around with it in my bored state, making very small ice fields that could fit in my hand as I did it over and over again, basically making a bunch of fist sized ice cubes. I was busy smothering it in Psi energy when I noticed that the ice field broke down. I figured that perhaps I had just ran too much energy through it, but then took note that the energy was now super cooled when I touched the ground nearby. A thick layer of ice formed around the grass as I dropped the energy ball, and it spread out a bit, freezing easily a fifteen Square foot area of grass. I figured it out quickly, my ability to stop movement of air molecules is what cooled the air into solid ice, that part was easy enough to know from basic knowledge of physics. When my energy was reintroduced afterwards into a very small pocket of this super cooled air, it reformed into a very cold Psi blast. I tested this again on a small tree and watched as it glazed over almost instantly on contact, but stayed limited to the tree. I wondered why for a moment, but then noted that it ran out of energy quickly once it spread out far enough and lost its cooling effect. I tried this with larger amounts of power, making a skating rink out of a lake in the process. I mastered this new Stasis technique very quickly, as forming these small ice blasts was very simple to do. I wasn't sure what to call it at first, but something simple like Psi Freeze seemed to do it justice. Combined with my Mystic wave effect, it made my stasis trap a hell of a lot faster. King Kai walked by when I was testing this out, and actually came up with a decent joke.

"Forget what I said about you being a warmhearted person," he chuckled slightly.

"Only when I'm alive. Speaking of which, how much time do I have left anyway?" I asked.

"Just about a week or two I think," he replied.

"Good, no offense King Kai. This place is nice and all, but it isn't for me, and I don't want to see it again until I die of old age," I said, laughing slightly as he and I walked back towards the delicious smell of Videl's cooking.

**--**

"Come out Kai, I want to have a word with you!" Dabura shouted angrily into the air. It had been a few days since his last discussion with Verto, and he had been fuming ever since. He snarled for a few more seconds when no response came, and luckily no one was in the nearby mountain range when he blew it up a moment later.

"Get out here and face me you coward!" Dabura shouted again.

"You wanted to see me?" a voice asked from behind. Dabura managed to calm himself enough to simply turn and scowl at Kibitoshin, who hovered at eye level with an eerie demeanor.

"It's about time, I was wondering if you completely ignored everything important in your area of jurisdiction," Dabura sneered.

"I only ignore what does not matter, like the start of this splendid conversation for example," Kibito replied, enticing Dabura's rage even more.

"Then explain this to me, why is the boy's full power being held from him? If you want me to teach him everything, you must not put a leash around his neck. Especially without his knowledge. You know what could happen if he is restrained!" Dabura warned.

"And we also know what could happen if he is not. Believe me all of the facts on the matter have been examined. But as usual, you are accusing the wrong party. We have very little to no influence on the kid other than which direction to point towards. His will remains free," Kibito explained as he turned to leave.

"You do not excel at lies Kai, no matter how hard you try," Dabura growled.

"I'm sure you would know all about that," Kibito said with a slight grin.

"Tell me who or what is inhibiting him! I refuse to believe that this is as far as the kid's power goes!" Dabura snarled.

"You will have to believe it, because right now this is his maximum potential, no matter how much you or I refuse to believe it! As for his supposedly limited abilities, know that we are extremely lucky that they are inhibited as they are now. The higher powers are barely taking notice, we should pray that they don't look into things further," Kibito said with a serious tone.

"What are you blabbering about now? What higher powers?" Dabura asked, annoyed.

"Come now Dabura, you know much more than you yourself choose to believe, as do I. You know exactly whom I am talking about. Even though we've had peace and quiet for several million years, the standoff continues!" Kibito said sternly as he spun around to look the demon in the eyes. Dabura lifted an eyebrow for a moment before relaxing as he accessed his own memory for distant facts.

"You don't mean...! The legends are true?" he asked as his jaw slipped a bit.

"Yes, the eternal struggle between the two forces continues. The war that has spanned longer than even the lifetime of my elder. Even though the cease-fire holds, both forces have been mounting their power and have allowed the shaky peace in the living realms. It is only a matter of time before things erupt again," Kibito explained.

"And thus the caution surrounding the boy, I see," Dabura said, much calmer than before.

"Yes, we do not want him to be the spark that sets things off again. For now I wouldn't worry too much, his power isn't something either side will become interested or concerned with at the moment. But now that some of the spies have been released, we must be mindful from now on," Kibito suggested.

"I take it they are scouring the cosmos for more recruits then?" Dabura asked.

"They've always done that. This time though, the chess match is starting to unravel. They may be pre-occupied in other realms right now, but we both know that won't last. It is not a matter of if, but _when_ a strategy is unveiled for this one, and somebody will strike. The only question now is when and where," Kibito said as he prepared to teleport. Dabura remained quiet and staring at the ground, the level of surprise to this revelation was almost too much for him.

"Good luck to you in the future, former demon king. You are free from your restrictions. May you travel in whatever direction suits you the most," Kibito said as he vanished. Dabura floated in mid air for a few more minutes while deep in thought. He grinned a bit and turned to leave, heading straight for King Kai's house.

**-**

I was sparring lightly with Lenz when Dabura flew in suddenly a few days later. I wasn't expecting to even see him again to be honest, but he had a very business-like grin on his face.

"Okay, dare I ask what this one is about?" I asked.

"Leave us, little girl," Dabura growled as he landed.

"Hey, I'm not a little girl!" Lenz shouted at him.

"Go ahead, he probably has a good reason," I said, motioning her off. She snarled at him a bit, but complied and we were silent for a few minutes while waiting for her to leave listening range.

"Quite a firefly that one is. I only have one final question, did you develop that attack I suggested?" he asked. I frowned a bit, there was only one other attack he had wanted me to develop after the shield technique, and it wasn't something I planned on using.

"Yeah, I can use it. I haven't tested it out for real though, seeing what it can do and all," I said nervously.

"Just another part of the arsenal I suppose, but sometime in your life you will likely use it on someone that deserves it. I pray I'm not that victim," Dabura chuckled.

"You may be right, but I don't think anyone deserves that sort of punishment, death is enough," I growled.

"You may reconsider that opinion in due time. Remember that it may not come to that worst-case scenario if it is carefully used. However, the full effect cannot be ignored. Farewell boy," he said as he lifted off into the air.

"How long before you come back this time?" I asked.

"If we are fortunate, never!" he shouted back as he blasted off into the distance. I traced his power signal for the next several minutes, but lost it when he left the planet and promptly vanished.

"Well, what was all that about? Where did big red and grumpy go?" Lenz asked as she walked back up, a little upset about the interruption.

"You got me," I said. As I stared into the sky, I allowed my own thoughts to sink in as Lenz practiced her moves a bit more. _Knowing him, he'll probably show up again when we least expect it, as always. But why did he want me to learn that damned attack? I'm probably never going to use it._

**A/n: Heh, more of me and my foreshadowing. So what's the big mystery here, have fun trying to guess it. **

**Next time on DBV: It's battle time, as Viro makes his move and starts attacking. Can the gang stop him now that he possesses Gohan's powers, or is this the end of both the human and Saiyan races?**


	38. Viro Attacks

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 37: Viro attacks**

"Gohan, are you going to come out of that room or not?!" Chichi shouted up the stairs.

Viro-Gohan scowled as he was trying to meditate, "Damn woman is getting on my nerves," he whispered. Ever since he had taken complete control of Gohan, he had been proceeding carefully so not to attract too much attention while he got used to Gohan's power and abilities. He knew he could take most of the Z fighters on with Gohan's body, but he also knew that they could just be wished back right away. He also was waiting for all of the Saiyans to be brought back, so he could get them all at once. According to his calculations from Gohan's memory, he had about five days before the Earth dragonballs were ready again, knowing the Namek ones were already good to go. He had made the suggestion of bringing back everyone early, trying to make himself want them back, but the others had eyed him with suspicion. The Supreme Kai had visited all of them prior to this, and the orders were for exactly six months. Viro wasn't overly pleased with this. Taking out Dende wasn't going to be a whole lot of trouble, but the other Nameks were much further away then he could sense, and Viro just didn't trust his new body that much to be able to take on all of the Super Saiyans twice in a row. He scowled, his plans for wiping them all out at once were in jeopardy if both sets of dragonballs were active. Not only that, but the others were starting to become suspicious, especially Vegeta. He had set off some of his virus in part of the human population in hopes to draw their attention away, but it only seemed to increase their cautiousness, especially after Gohan's school had cancelled classes a few days ago.

Viro suddenly felt as if he had moved on Gohan a bit too quickly, but at the time he had to take his chances since Gohan would have blown himself up to get rid of him. Just a short time ago, Vegeta had come over to talk to Goku alone, but Viro could tell that the Saiyan prince wasn't there for any sort of fight with his rival. They had departed after a short time and flown in the direction of the lookout, but neither of them looked comfortable leaving their sons behind. _I've got to act soon, I can risk taking them all on in consecutive battles. As long as I can infect the boy quickly when he arrives, I shouldn't have a problem. _He scowled deeper as he heard the brats coming up the stairs in a hurry.

"Gohan! We want to spar before dinner, will you get your butt down here?!" Trunks demanded. Viro turned and glared at him, not even fazing the young prince, who had seen much meaner looks from his father. Goten caught the glare and became slightly nervous, as he hadn't seen that look out of his brother very much. Viro realized what was happening and switched back to a much calmer look.

"Why don't you guys go outside and get ready. We'll even take it up a notch this time," he said.

"All right!" Trunks declared happily as the two ran down the stairs.

"Damn brats, maybe now is a good time to get rid of them and the woman while I have time to spare," Viro said as he got up and headed for the door. Chichi waited at the bottom of the steps, looking quite unhappy.

"About time Gohan, have you finished all your schoolwork?" she asked. Viro scowled again, he had been doing Gohan's schoolwork a lot lately in order to keep a low profile, but it wasn't helping him any and he was quite tired of it.

"Well, are you going to just stand there, or will you answer my question?" she asked again.

"Piss off old woman, I'm in no mood for your worthless banter right now!" he snapped at her. The look of surprise on Chichi's face brought a smile back to Viro's, he had been ready to say that for quite awhile now.

"How dare you!" she shouted as she pulled out the skillet and prepared to whack him over the head. Viro blocked it and threw the frying pan aside, and then grabbed her by the throat.

"If there is anything I truly hate, it is annoying old grannies like yourself trying to boss me around. That ends now!" Viro said, tossing Chichi into the wall, knocking over several items in the process. Goten and Trunks came rushing back in upon hearing the commotion, and were instantly confused when they saw Chichi buried underneath a cupboard's contents.

"What happened big brother?" Goten whined in concern as he gazed over at his mother while Trunks checked her over.

"She had a slight accident it seems," Viro said with a slight smirk. Trunks glared up at him right away, knowing that look anywhere.

Goten caught the glance and figured it out quickly enough before breaking down in tears, "Why did you hurt Mommy big brother, why?"

"Because she is an annoying bitch. Trust me kid, I'm doing you a favor!" Viro snarled. Trunks stood up, preparing himself for a fight.

"What have you done with Gohan, I can tell you aren't him," he said.

"Gohan is here, he's just not available right now, try back later!" Viro laughed slightly.

"Goten, we have to fuse," Trunks suggested. Goten nodded as he wiped his eyes and they both powered up to Super Saiyan. Viro-Gohan continued to laugh as they lined up and performed the fusion technique.

---

"So what is this about Vegeta?" Piccolo asked. Vegeta and Goku had just arrived on the lookout, both looking quite disturbed at what they thought was happening. And Goku was not comfortable at all with the possibility that Gohan was the source of the virus.

"You know about this crazy virus I assume?" Vegeta asked.

"Yes, its hard to ignore the Guardian of the Earth when that's all he talks about," Piccolo muttered, glancing at Dende for a moment.

"I think Gohan is the source of that virus, and I don't mean voluntarily," Vegeta suggested.

"What do you mean?" Piccolo asked, surprised.

"Gohan was sick for a few days on the way back, but he was fine afterwards. Ever since then, everyone has caught this virus, everyone that is human or Saiyan that is. Bulma has proven this as well, and it lies dormant beneath our skin as we speak. The other thing is that Gohan's personality has shifted, no doubt you've noticed that," Vegeta pointed out.

"Yeah, I've noticed," Piccolo said, looking away.

"Well, he has been acting a bit strange lately, but it hasn't been anything to be alarmed over. After all, Videl's been dead for awhile now. Maybe he's just anxious to get her back," Goku suggested.

"I've seen your son anxious Goku, this isn't even close. Is it possible that there is some sort of evil influence that is affecting him?" Piccolo suggested.

"That's the problem, I've never heard of any warrior that could control another without some sort of device or at least some sign of things. And Gohan is too strong to be easily taken over. He did say that the girl told him that Frost had sent a mercenary out here and we haven't seen any signs of him yet. Frost's empire is not so far away that he wouldn't have shown up by now, so that's a possibility," Vegeta said. Goku heard this and immediately started to wonder about something else.

"Is it possible that it's the Zerg?" Goku asked.

"That's impossible, we wiped them out!" Vegeta shouted.

"Yes, but we were all in contact with them at one point or another. The Overmind even made evil copies of all of us. Isn't it possible that perhaps something infected Gohan while we were dealing with them?" Goku suggested. Vegeta took a moment to think that over, not drawing any conclusions.

"It's highly doubtful. The Zerg for the most part couldn't even approach your son unless he allowed it, and if you recall, he killed a lot of them without any effort. This isn't likely any remnant of the Zerg… unless the Overmind somehow survived and I seriously doubt that. It must be some sort of inner turmoil going on in his mind. As we all know Kakarot, your son can be more of a Saiyan than any other when he wants to be," Vegeta said.

"All right, we can conclude that there is something wrong with Gohan and we have to deal with it. We also have to deal with this worldwide virus problem, any ideas on how to cure it?" Goku asked.

"The sacred water is a possibility, however I don't think it can cure viral problems, at least not that I know of. We can certainly try it," Piccolo said, motioning Dende and Popo over with the jar.

"Wait a moment, we shouldn't waste it just yet unless we know it'll work. Kakarot, go and get my mate, and tell her to bring some of her portable equipment!" Vegeta ordered. Goku nodded and teleported away, coming back a moment later with a cranky looking Bulma with no gear.

"Kakarot, I said to get some of her scanning equipment!" Vegeta shouted.

"But I don't know what it looks like," Goku whined slightly.

"Argh, here give me some of that crap," Vegeta said, reaching for the jar. Dende gave it to him hesitantly, and Vegeta drank down a gulp or two, and then glanced at Piccolo.

"Something should have happened by now if it indeed works, it's supposed to purify the body," the Namek said.

"Only one way to find out I suppose, Kakarot, take us to the lab real quick for a blood test," Vegeta ordered. The three phased out, leaving Piccolo and Dende alone.

"Do you think that it will work?" Dende asked.

"Hopefully, but at the moment I am a bit more concerned about Gohan," Piccolo said, staring off into the distance.

-

Goku and Vegeta teleported back a moment later, solemn expressions plastered all over their faces.

"It didn't work did it?" Dende asked first.

"No, I'm not sure what to do now. Dragonballs can only bring those back that died in an unnatural way, which doesn't include those who are sick. We're in trouble, that's for sure," Goku said.

"Perhaps it is because the virus is primarily dormant and isn't harming everyone all the time, maybe it only works on those who are already sick," Piccolo suggested.

"But what are we supposed to do, wait until everyone gets sick? This virus has killed instantly several times already, depending on how weak the victim is. We can't wait for people to get sick before treating them, we may not make it in time and there are too many!" Dende interjected.

"Wait a minute, the boy!" Vegeta said in slight excitement.

"Verto you mean?" Piccolo asked.

"Yes, his new powers allow him to not only heal others, but to also cure odd conditions. That's how he was able to completely remove the Zerg infection from his body," Vegeta suggested.

"I see, but he isn't going to be able to save everyone, I guess at the very least we can line everyone up and use a lot of Senzu beans. But we aren't supposed to bring him and the others back for another week or two, orders from the Supreme Kai," Piccolo explained.

"Screw their orders, we don't know who may be next with this virus. Contact the other Nameks and have them wish everyone back," Vegeta ordered.

"The Kai's won't like this," Piccolo warned.

"Since when have I cared?" Vegeta asked. Everyone suddenly perked up to a strong ki level making itself present on Earth, battling another one.

"What the, what now?" Vegeta asked.

"That feels like Gohan, but we left him with the boys. They must have fused and are sparring," Goku suggested.

Piccolo glanced at Dende before shutting his eyes and sensing what was going on, "That's no sparring match Goku. I think its time you confronted your son about his new attitude!" Goku looked slightly stunned at this, but nodded and teleported out, leaving Vegeta behind.

"Typical Kakarot, always rushing into things. Send the boy and the others along when they get back!" Vegeta ordered as Piccolo grumbled. He then took off full speed towards Goku's house, eager to have a talk with Gohan himself. Piccolo shook his head slightly at the irony of Vegeta's view on Goku's departure, but frowned when he sensed what was going on with Gohan.

"So what do we do?" Dende asked.

"Contact King Kai and inform him of the situation, I think I may be needed on this battlefield if Gohan has really turned against us. Don't worry about me, just do it," Piccolo ordered as he followed Vegeta.

---

Viro-Gohan grinned as Gotenks formed, and then transformed to his Super Saiyan 3 level. Viro released some power himself, raising it to Gohan's maximum in normal form. He expected Gotenks to start in with his arrogant attitude, but that is not what he got from the young super duo. Gotenks charged in with a mighty battle cry, trying to take his head off with a flying punch. Viro dodged aside easily as Gotenks went sailing past him, folding his arms when he turned. Gotenks came to a halt before phasing out and reappearing directly behind Viro. Viro vanished just as Gotenks kicked towards him, and he paused in surprise before being blown down from a hard blow to the back of his head. Gotenks cringed as he picked himself up, rubbing his long golden hair.

"No fair! That was a cheap shot!" he whined.

"I'm the bad guy, that's what I'm supposed to do!" Viro grinned. Gotenks fired off several large energy balls next, watching as Viro avoided them all and took off into the skies.

Gotenks snarled a bit at this, "Get back here you chicken!"

"Come and get me you little rodent!" Viro taunted. Gotenks blazed into the air, chasing him down just as he picked up the pace, leaving a fiery golden trail that sliced through the sky. Viro led him into a mountainous area filled with canyons before stopping a few minutes later, grinning ear to ear.

"Come on you big meanie!" Gotenks shouted, waving him on.

"You're the one who started this fight, and besides, with your limited fusion time, you should be the aggressor. I'd estimate that you only have a few minutes left if you stay at that level!" Viro replied coolly.

Gotenks stared at him wide eyed, "How do you know that?"

"Remember, this is your brother's body, and I have all of his memories. Your Super Saiyan 3 only works when it comes as complete surprise and when it actually overpowers your opponent. In this case, you are severely outclassed, and without it, your fusion is worthless!" Viro shouted suddenly as he phased out. His fist found Gotenks' jaw a moment later, drawing blood that splattered outwards. He grabbed Gotenks by his long flock of hair and started pounding his chest and stomach with an unrelenting assault of punches. The fused child was helpless against this much stronger opponent, and soon felt faint from the beating he was taking. Viro released Gotenks before nearly taking his head off with the next punch. Gotenks went sprawling backwards, splitting apart the instant he hit the ground, leaving a battered Trunks and Goten behind.

"Was that all you two had, I should have known better than to expect more I guess," Viro said, charging a potent ki blast designed to wipe them out.

"Hold it right there, Gohan!" a voice from behind shouted. Viro turned to see an angered Goku, who had just teleported in.

"What do you think your doing, you hurt your mother and now your brother and Trunks? What is wrong with you?" Goku asked.

"Why, if it isn't my dear father, let's just say I'm tired of putting up with your shit!" Viro sneered as he cancelled his blast.

Goku was taken aback by this comment, "What happened to you? Did the Zerg infest you or is it some other form of evil that is making you act this way?" Goku asked.

"It's nothing, I just want to be free!" Viro lied, charging in and punching Goku harshly across the jaw. Goku dropped to one knee as Viro-Gohan backed off, his head turned the other way.

He turned and glared sharply at his son, "I will find out what is wrong with you, even if I have to beat you to a pulp to figure it out!" Goku shouted, suddenly powering up to Super Saiyan 2, before taking it a step further.

"You're washed up old man, and out-dated!" Viro shouted back.

**Power levels:**

**Viro-Gohan: 580,000,000**

**Gotenks (SS3): 450,000,000**


	39. Back in the Game

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 38: Back in the Game**

Piccolo chased after Vegeta, though was lagging behind badly since the Saiyan was much faster than he was. He sensed the growing battle between Goku and Gohan, and pressed harder to get there as soon as possible. If Goku couldn't talk some sense into his son, he was the next best hope before Gohan destroyed them all. _It must be some sort of outside influence, I can't imagine that Gohan would just turn on us after all these years._ He continued flying fast, but knew he still had several hundred miles to go since the lookout was so far away from the Son household. Vegeta would clear that distance within a few minutes or less, Piccolo however wasn't so lucky. Right about then he detected a powerful Saiyan ki signature behind him, coming up fast. He turned to see Bardock catching up to him. He hadn't seen the elder Saiyan for a few months ever since he took off into space without as much as a goodbye. He had suspected that perhaps Bardock needed to blow off some steam in space or something, but somehow knew that wasn't his style.

"Hey, do you know what is going on?" Piccolo asked.

"That's why I'm back, there is something terribly wrong with Gohan, and I know the source!" Bardock admitted.

"What is it?" Piccolo asked.

"Simply put, the source of the virus that is affecting the Earth and Gohan's sudden attitude change are one in the same. The mercenary for Frost is actually a warrior that can infect all sorts of people with this deadly virus and can take over others in order to use their own power against any resistance," Bardock explained.

"What?" Piccolo asked in surprise.

"In other words, that isn't Gohan," Bardock muttered as he accelerated and zoomed off into the distance. Piccolo stopped in his tracks and let Bardock's words go through his head a few times. _This isn't good. Perhaps Vegeta was right, it's time to bring the others back to life. We won't have much of a chance against Gohan's power without their help. I can only hope that Verto's next stage of training was enough to make a difference._

"_Dende!_" Piccolo called out telepathically.

"_Yes?_" Dende responded instantly.

"_I trust you were monitoring what Bardock just said?"_

"_Yeah, I heard him_," Dende said.

"_You know what to do. Get Verto and the others wished back immediately. I'm on my way to the battlefield!_"

--

"Come on Goku, push yourself further, show me you aren't just another Saiyan that was thrown out with the trash!" Viro-Gohan taunted as Goku continued to build his power in his Super Saiyan 3 form. Viro grinned as Goku's power topped out and even matched his own currently. Goku stood there proudly, his aura leaving an angry intensity he hadn't felt in a long time, and it was slightly refreshing. Goku suddenly phased out and blind-sided Viro with a fast punch to the face.

"That's it Goku, tell your son exactly how much you love him!" Viro grinned as he wiped the blemish off.

"Be quiet!" Goku shouted back, phasing out again. Viro's whole body exploded with painful jabs as Goku attacked hard, punching and kicking him all over before knocking him into the distance, giving chase a moment later. Viro frowned as he recovered, not quite expecting that kind of reaction from the Super Saiyan. He slowly got up to his knees before stopping when he saw the potent blast forming in Goku's hand, not three feet away from him.

"Give up!" Goku ordered.

"That would be the day," Viro said with a grin as his eyes flashed with blue. He suddenly phased out just as Goku fired, leaving an empty piece of land to fall to ashes a second later. Goku spotted Viro in the skies, with his arms folded.

"I see, my training must have been too good for you to dodge that one," Goku said with a scowl.

"Say whatever makes you feel better, you aren't going to beat me," Viro shrugged slightly as he slowly floated to the ground.

"We'll see about that!" Goku said, preparing to charge after him.

"And don't bother waiting on your friends to bail you out, I'll wipe them out just as easily. Oh, here comes a few of them now!" Viro said, looking up. Vegeta landed next to Goku a moment later, a cautious look on his face.

"I see you didn't get too far into this yet. For once Kakarot, I'll take your teamwork concept into consideration," Vegeta muttered as he began to power up. Goku didn't answer as he sensed his own father coming closer and landing just as Vegeta shot into the 2nd Super Saiyan level.

"The prince makes his grand entrance, pardon me for not shaking in my boots!" Viro laughed.

Vegeta growled as he stood his ground, "We'll see about that you third rate spawn! Hurting my son is the last thing you will ever do!"

"Thank the gods I'm not too late!" Bardock said as he landed.

"Don't concern about this one Bardock, he's ours!" Vegeta said.

"No, all of us need to take him, you don't understand what happened! That is not Gohan in front of you. It may look like him, sound like him and even have the same abilities, but it isn't him!" Bardock explained.

"What do you mean, if that isn't Gohan, that who the hell is he?" Vegeta asked.

"That is Gohan's body, but it has been taken over by a warrior that calls himself Viro. He has the ability to transform himself into gas and take over the body of another. Using this method of takeover, the host body then produces his other ability, a deadly virus with no cure, depending on the race of the host. Since the host was half Saiyan and half human, all of the Earth has been infected," Bardock explained.

"Very good Bardock, I wonder though, how did you find out about me?" Viro asked.

"When I was in the service, I had heard about a mercenary that worked for Frieza occasionally when he had need of a complete clearing of a planet of strong inhabitants, but without leaving any kind of blemish on the planet. Instead of sending in elite warriors, this dirt bag was sent in to wipe them out, and in return, he could keep the host that he used to produce the virus until he needed a new one. After all these years, he's still at it. When I left weeks ago, I had a sneaking suspicion that perhaps this guy had gotten involved with Frost. Now I know for sure, there are numerous worlds that have been conquered while we were in the other dimension, with nearly a dozen of them falling to some sort of virus of unknown origin. This guy is responsible for all of it!" Bardock said as he pointed straight at Viro.

"You caught me! I'm obviously no match for your powers of deduction! I guess the benefit of time travel allows you to recall things that I had forgotten long ago. I guess some of those things didn't happen for you. Like how you were the only Saiyan that actually had enough guts to stand up to Frieza before he blew the whole monkey farm away!" Viro laughed. Vegeta uttered a mighty battle cry and pushed his power up to Super Saiyan 3 just as Bardock shot up to level 2.

"Now that just isn't fair, you three powerful Saiyans against little old me! I guess it's time to up the ante!" Viro boasted, dropping his ki level a bit. The other Saiyans braced themselves as the silver aura emerged and Gohan's power erupted from the depths. Then they all lowered into their own battle stances, they knew they were in for a fight.

-

Just as Viro-Gohan finished the Super Mystic power up, all 3 Super Saiyans attacked. Viro ducked and dodged as fast as he possibly could as the three surrounded him and attacked. For several moments he kept up with the three and was not touched, but far from easily. Goku broke the streak though when he suddenly phased out and reappeared above. Viro was distracted enough by this to get nailed in the side by a kick from Vegeta, followed up by Bardock charging into his back like a battering ram. Viro stumbled, but recovered quickly, leaping into the sky a half second later just as a powerful ki blast hit the area he was just standing in. Viro turned as he floated backwards, seeing a horde of ki blasts from Goku heading for him. He set about dodging all of them easily by phasing in and out, throwing off Goku's aim. Just as he felt he had Goku's maneuvering figured out, another round of ki blasts came in from a different angle, courtesy of Bardock. Viro panicked slightly as he dodged these as well, and had to start deflecting the small blasts. Some of them even collided in front of him and exploded, blinding and distracting him for a moment. More blasts rained in from both Goku and Bardock, hitting their target and increasing the damage slightly, but Viro was more concerned that he lost track of Vegeta momentarily while he protected himself. Goku and Bardock ceased fire for a moment for the smoke to clear, and Viro sensed Vegeta behind him, high in the sky, and holding something that would probably hurt.

"Now you die! BIG BANG ATTACK!" The explosion was immediate, and encompassed most of the area for about a mile around, blowing down trees and ripping through the rugged terrain nearby until it was all one big blast mark. Once the blast cleared, Viro was on the ground, his shirt completely blown off and his pants torn in multiple places. Vegeta lowered himself to the ground cautiously as Goku and Bardock walked up beside him.

"That was too easy," Vegeta whispered.

"And you would be correct, fallen prince," Viro said as he slowly got to his feet, "But nonetheless a valiant effort. I doubt any of you will leave that kind of mark on me again!" he boasted.

"Surely you must be joking, you may know how to use the boy's power, but against the three of us you won't win!" Bardock pointed out.

"On the contrary, I'm positive I could have beaten the three of you eventually in a straight on fight, as tough as it may have been. However, I don't intend to give you the chance to drag it out in hopes of more allies showing up to stack the deck in your favor! Thankfully I don't have to worry about that," Viro boasted as he snapped his finger.

"And why is that?" Vegeta dared.

"Do you feel that headache coming on yet? I imagine it will be coming on shortly!" Viro said with a sick grin on his face.

"Argh, what the hell?" Vegeta asked as he clutched his head. _How is this possible? My power is draining fast! Damn, it must be that virus!_ Vegeta thought as he glared a hole through Viro.

"Vegeta! What's wrong?" Goku shouted.

"It's, that blasted virus!" he cried out as his hair shortened. Down to Super Saiyan 2, Vegeta gasped for breathe before snarling up at Viro.

"I'll, get you!" he shouted, charging in fast.

"Vegeta, no!" Goku cried out. Viro moved aside just as Vegeta flew in before kicking Vegeta sharply in the stomach. Vegeta paused in surprised pain as he dropped to the ground, groaning all the way down. The groaning halted a moment later as Vegeta got back to his feet, a smiling Viro-Gohan didn't do anything to help his mood.

"Argh, I won't go out like this!" Vegeta said defiantly as he lifted his arms to the sides and charged a lot of energy into them.

"How inspiring, but foolish!" Viro said with a tight grin, prepared for the attack that was coming.

"We'll see about that!" Vegeta shouted as he summoned every ounce of power he could reach. His hair grew out to his waist again as he powered up dangerously high, groaning loudly all the way.

"No Vegeta, that's too much power!" Goku shouted.

"Don't concern yourself with me clown! No pitiful coward like him is taking me down, FINAL FLASH!" Vegeta roared, firing the massive beam. The golden blast skewered through the grounds and exploded around Viro's position, leaving an even larger explosion than before, lightening up the skies around the earth for several hundred miles as it eventually tore through the skies and into space. Vegeta grinned and gasped for breath as the explosion cleared, no real sign of Viro anywhere nearby. Bardock came to his aid an instant later, as Vegeta was bent over, holding his knees.

"Enjoy oblivion," he muttered.

"A decent effort, but to no avail!" Viro announced from the skies. All three Saiyans stared upwards and gasped to see Viro high in the air.

"You didn't actually think I would let that hit me, did you?" Viro asked, grinning all the way.

"Blast you, coward!" Vegeta blurted out as his breathing increased. A moment later Vegeta reverted back to normal, as he clutched his stomach.

Bardock felt his forehead, "He's burning up Kakarot!" Vegeta shoved Bardock's hand aside as he dropped to his knees, throwing up a few seconds later and then passing out.

"The great prince of Saiyans, taken down by a microscopic organism. Such disgrace is fitting for him," Viro laughed.

"I knew the virus was fast, but how could it affect him that quickly? His energy is already dangerously low!" Bardock said.

"All I did was activate it, but I suppose being a Super Saiyan 3 didn't help any. He'll be dead before the day is over due to how much energy he burned up trying to take me out!" Viro continued to laugh as Goku and Bardock growled in slight anger.

--

Lenz, Videl and I were just finishing up breakfast when King Kai received the message. He immediately connected us with Dende so we could hear the most of the story, but when I sensed Gohan's power erupt and Vegeta's plummet a few moments later, I had heard enough.

"Contact the Nameks, I think you know why," I said simply as I headed for the door.

"Yes of course," King Kai nodded.

"Where are you going?" Videl asked as I removed my weighted shirt and tossed it aside.

"You two stay here for now, I'm going to bust our friends out of the stasis chamber, it's time to go back to Earth," I answered as I blasted off into the air. I cleared the planet's gravity and soared down to Snake Way, intent on getting back to Earth as quickly as possible to help out. So intent that I crashed right through King Yemma's roof and landed on his desk, startling him.

"Verto, why didn't you just use the door?" he asked with a big frown.

"I came for the others, get them out of stasis right now!" I ordered.

"Despite your power boy, I am in charge here. Now why should I let them out now? The Supreme Kai has given me no such order! Who is going to fix my roof boy? That's what I want to know!" Yemma responded with an angry glare.

"I'll put it to you simply, if you don't go and get them out soon, you are going to have a lot of traffic coming up here! You recall what happened when Buu was on Earth don't you? Well just imagine that, only I expect it will be all at once!" I warned.

King Yemma opened his eyes wide before he let his anger take over, "Not another crisis, not now! I just got caught up!" he whined.

"Sir, more arrivals from earth, it looks like it was that weird virus again!" an ogre shouted up.

"Argh, this has to stop, attendant, go thaw our guests!" Yemma shouted. I jumped off his desk now that he had come to his senses, and followed the ogre that had run off. Fortunately, whatever device they used to thaw and freeze others worked fast, the other Saiyans were already awake when I arrived, but also a bit disoriented.

"Man, this freezing stuff is worse than hyper sleep gas!" Shugesh mumbled.

"At least your stomach didn't growl the whole time," Borgos muttered back.

Tora was wiping his face with a towel when I came into the room, and his face lit up with slight surprise and panic. "Kid, you all right?" he asked cautiously.

"If you mean, do I feel like killing you again, the answer is no," I grinned. Tora smiled back, knowing that it wasn't actually me that had killed him, even if it was by my own hand. I stepped forward and shook his hand when he offered it, and he slapped the side of my arm in friendship.

"Oh man, remind me never to complain about the boredom of space travel ever again!" Fasha said as she yawned and woke up a bit more.

"As good as it is to see you all again, its about a week before we were supposed to go back to Earth. I'd say its been about seven months since Tora and Fasha died, and longer for you two. There's a battle going on right now and they need our help," I started to explain.

"Yeah, I can sense something going on down there with Gohan, Bardock and Kakarot, but I don't sense who they are fighting," Tora said, looking a bit confused.

"It's Gohan we have to fight, apparently some evil dude took over his body and released a deadly virus that has infected everyone on Earth! Apparently this guy can turn this virus on in anyone at anytime and it's up to us to stop him!" I explained.

"So, there's still another battle for us here eh? Count me in!" Tora said, putting his fist out at arms length.

"Bardock's in trouble, what else is new? I'm in!" Shugesh replied, putting his hand on top of Tora's.

"I'm starting to miss the good days when the odds weren't so stacked," Borgos said, adding his hand.

"And here I thought life without you would get boring kid, let's do this!" Fasha grinned, putting her hand on the pile. Just as I stepped up to the team, I sensed a sudden presence behind me, and scowled a bit when I recognized who it was.

"Just my bad luck, I thought I told you to stay with King Kai," I growled a warning.

"And let you run off to battle without me? Besides, I owe you for saving my neck against Frieza! If anyone can talk some sense into Gohan, it is a beautiful girl like me. Isn't that right, little bro?" Lenz asked, draping her arm over my shoulder to add to the pile.

"She's your sister kid? Man, I'd love to have your bad luck!" Tora exclaimed, getting a smack to the side out of Fasha.

"She is not my sister! Fine you can come, but stay back! This is our fight. Let's finish this, our last battle together!" I replied, adding my own hand now. Just as I did, I sensed a slight change in the energy of the air around us. One by one, all of our halos vanished, and I sensed a charge in everyone's power.

"All right, we're back in the game now!" Tora said, giving Shugesh a high five.

"Now to get to Earth, looks like Kibitoshin isn't up for it. King Kai, can you hear me?" I asked aloud.

"_Loud and clear kid_," he said.

"There goes that whole voice in my head thing again," Borgos muttered, knocking on his own head as if to clear it out. I snorted as he likely meant what he had gone through with the Zerg.

"Keep Videl up there where she'll be safe, but have the Nameks wish us to the Lookout, we'll proceed from there," I said.

"_You got it! Good luck to all of you!"_ he replied before cutting the connection.

"The lookout?" Tora asked.

"Simply put, if we were just wished to Earth, who knows where the dragon would put us. Could be right in the thick of the battle, could be thousands of miles away. At least we'll have a familiar location to deal with this way," I explained. I smiled slightly as a bright light surrounded us and we began to fade, I was finally going back home.

-

The bright white floor of the lookout blinded me for a moment, but it was very refreshing to see as we arrived on Earth.

"Hey, welcome back you guys!" Dende shouted from nearby.

"Good to be back, lets get to it," I suggested as I scanned around the Earth for the battle location. I found it quickly once I had my bearings back, finding that it was going on near the Son home, but several miles off in the mountains.

"You guys need to be careful, the virus took Vegeta down very quickly, and once you're infected, it drains your power fast. Any heavy exertion could kill any of you," Dende explained.

"I wonder what this guy is waiting for then. If he can activate this virus at any time in any one, why hasn't he just infected the whole planet and killed everyone?" Fasha asked.

"Bardock just got back a little while ago and I overheard that this guy who took over Gohan works for someone named Frost," Dende replied.

"Ah that explains it," Tora said as the others nodded.

"Care to fill me in?" I asked.

"Frost likely wants to preserve the human population to use as slaves. Frieza did that quite often back in the day and we saw a lot of previously conquered species enslaved as servants as Frost's base," Tora explained.

"Yeah that sounds right, its just what that scumbag would do," Lenz added.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Dende asked her.

"That's kind of a long story, you see…" Lenz began before I cut her off.

"She's with us. We're wasting time here, now Dende, the dragonballs won't bring anyone back that died by natural causes right? Does that include viruses like this?" I asked just as I sensed the sudden irritation from Lenz for not introducing her properly.

"Unfortunately yes, Vegeta suggested that we use your healing powers to wipe it out, but that's a lot of people to treat," Dende replied, trying to ignore the glare coming from Lenz. I lifted an eyebrow before responding, surprised that Vegeta gave it that much thought about humans before rushing off, but then again, he had changed a great deal.

"Well, no promises, but I'll give it my best shot. But I'll need some help doing it. We'll deal with that after we beat this goon, let's get going guys!" I ordered. Just as we took off into the clouds, I sensed Goku struggling against this Viro, and we quickened our pace to get there in time to help. We ran into Piccolo along the way, who joined us in mid flight, though he had to give a lot of effort to keep up.

Just after we met up with him, King Kai interrupted us again, "_Hey Verto, um, what about the third wish?"_

I glanced at Piccolo and the others, but it didn't appear that they had even heard anything, meaning he was speaking only to me. "_Can you ask the dragon to remove the virus from everyone?_" I asked silently.

"_That could work on at least everyone who is infected. However, that wouldn't prevent anyone from being infected again. Viro infected Gohan and used his body to produce the virus. And that being the case, all he had to do was travel around and use both Gohan's breathing and any physical contact with any substance to spread it around. Once inside its victims, it multiplies on its own to survive and then spreads to others. And then Viro can activate it at any time to kill his victims. So it wouldn't do much good to remove it from all victims when it's still around in the air. I don't think either dragon can isolate air molecules that precisely to effectively take care of it. And remember, you can't make a wish that exceeds the Namek elder's power! Either way, you should focus on taking care of Viro before trying to fix the damage caused by the virus. If you try to wish it away now, and fail to beat him or allow the battle to last too long, the virus may linger on earth!"_ he explained.

I grimaced slightly at this, "_Well that's just fucking perfect. Fine, tell them to stand by on the third wish, I'll try to hurry!"_

**Power levels:**

**Viro-Gohan (Super Mystic): 700,000,000**

**Goku (SS3): 590,000,000**

**Vegeta (SS3): 585,000,000 (drops quickly as he gets sick)**

**Bardock (SS2): 450,000,000**

**Next time on DBV: As Verto and the others rush to the battlefield, Viro takes on Goku and Bardock. He puts Bardock down quickly and Goku has to hold on for more help to arrive. Viro senses Verto coming and quickly cheats his way to a victory over Goku with his virus. Before he can finish him off though, Verto arrives and the battle between the two Super Mystic Saiyans begins. When he was infected by the Zerg, Gohan was willing to risk destroying Verto in order to help him, will Verto do the same thing?**


	40. Verto vs Viro

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 39: Verto vs. Viro **

Viro-Gohan grinned deeply as he set his eyes on Bardock once Vegeta went down. Bardock glared back nervously, knowing what might be coming. _Boom!_ Viro instantly teleported and landed a haymaker on Bardock's face, sending spit and blood flying.

"Father!" Goku shouted in panic. Bardock recovered in mid air as he wiped off his mouth, growling slightly as he stopped his backward momentum. He suddenly felt his stomach turning slightly, and its contents quickly came up to his throat as he lowered to the ground. Viro grinned as Bardock left a mixture of food and stomach acid in the dirt, knowing that he wouldn't be lasting long.

"You coward! Can't you fight fair?" Goku shouted as Bardock's hair turned black once again. Bardock dropped to his hands and knees, gasping for breath as the virus took hold of him. He fought to stay awake though, he had to see this through.

"Villains aren't supposed to follow the rules, besides, I can still sense that you are waiting for backup. With Gohan's memories I can safely deduce that you are stalling so the previously dead Saiyans arrive and stack the odds heavily in your favor. I am simply taking care of the problem here before I have to worry about them. If you want me to speed up the process, just say so!" Viro shouted as he phased out. Goku was floored instantly from behind by his forearm, and stumbled forward, slightly stunned. He shook it off and turned with a powerful ki blast charged and ready, firing the instant he saw Viro. Viro teleported away once again, and a harmless explosion went off nearby while Goku growled slightly.

"So Goku, can you finally see the irony of this? Killed by your son's hands, the very hands you trained!" Viro laughed again.

"You are not my son! Gohan would never do anything like this. Majin Buu said the same thing over a year ago and we defeated him. We can certainly defeat you. If that means killing my own son, then so be it, he would want it that way!" Goku declared as he sunk back into his fighting stance.

"Good luck doing that," Viro chuckled. Goku silenced the conversation with his battle cry before rushing in and punching wildly. Viro dodged each punch easily with a wide grin on his face.

"Looks like I was mistaken. Good luck in making me actually try hard!" Viro declared as he dodged several punches and kicks from Goku. Goku picked up the pace and got a bit overzealous, and Viro capitalized on it instantly. He kicked Goku hard across the face and sent him skidding into the ground. He fired a small Chi blast a moment later, hitting dead on and covering Goku's position with dust and smoke. He sensed Goku's power surge a moment later as he shot out of the smoke cloud and high into the skies, where he held steady once he was almost a mile up.

"And just what do you plan to do up there?" Viro asked, though much too silent for Goku to hear him.

"KA - ME - HA - ME - !…" Goku chanted in response.

"How dumb do I look?" Viro asked, grin intact. Goku vanished and reappeared instantly in front of Viro. Viro kicked forward and went right through Goku as his afterimage vanished. He sensed Goku directly behind him and phased out just as Goku moved again. Viro reappeared directly behind Goku's position, but frowned when he saw himself surrounded by a dozen copies of Goku, all of them drawn back to fire. Viro tried to isolate the real one, but found it was difficult as he struck several fake opponents in search of the real one.

"Over here!" Goku shouted from his left. Viro turned that way just as he heard a slight whooshing sound behind him.

"Damnit," he mumbled as all of the afterimages vanished and the blue light erupted from behind.

"HAAAA!!" Goku shouted, firing directly into Viro's back. Viro-Gohan cried out in pain as he flew forward from the beam's impact, stopping when he hit a mountain a moment later. The Kamehameha wave exploded the instant the forward momentum halted, and Goku gasped for breath as he monitored the results. The smoke cleared out a few minutes later, and he spotted Viro getting to his feet.

"Not bad Goku, but as you can see, your son is much stronger than you are. This body can handle extreme punishment unlike a lot of my previous hosts. Your efforts are in vain!" Viro declared.

"Doesn't mean I won't try though," Goku muttered back.

"Try all you want. You've met your match!" Viro replied. Goku continued to catch his breath, noticing a sudden drop in his energy a moment later as a nasty migraine filled his head.

"You didn't...?" Goku asked once his hair shortened a bit.

"Despite your inability to beat me, I sense that some of your friends are on their way, and I don't need to be wasting my time with you. I can tell that they haven't been infected just yet, and I'll need time and power to deal with them, not waste it all on you. Frost wanted your punishment to be slow and severe, but I'm not giving you the chance to overwhelm me with some sort of trump card. The knowledge of beating you at your own game was satisfying enough!" Viro grinned.

Goku's breathing increased as he started to cough a bit, "Damn, it's just like the heart virus!" he moaned a bit as his body erupted in pain.

"I suppose its effect is similar, I suggest you power down if you want to live a little longer!" Viro suggested. Goku responded by lunging at him, and catching Viro with a fist across the face. Viro turned his head towards Goku even with the fist embedded, and frowned slightly.

"And that was the last time you will ever touch this body, dear father!" Viro growled. Goku's face fell a moment later when Viro struck him in the stomach so hard he swore he felt it pop the bones in his back. One kick to the jaw and he was flying backwards out of control before landing painfully on the ground, dropping out of Super Saiyan completely.

"I enjoyed our brief fight, Goku - may you enjoy the afterlife!" Viro said, charging a quick Chi blast with Goku's name on it. Goku lay motionless aside from his heavy breathing, and Viro grinned in knowing that this was the final blow. He fired and watched as it sailed towards its victim, only to be pushed off course by a ki blast from the side. Viro scowled and turned to spot Krillin standing there with his arm outstretched and smoking.

"Man, that was close!" Krillin sighed as 18 landed behind him.

"Oh I see! The weakling humans come to their hero's aid so he can hold on and win by a nose hair at the end! How noble!" Viro grinned.

"Gohan, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you trying to kill your father?" Krillin asked.

"Buzz off, runt, this has nothing to do with you. As long as you humans stay out of my way, you won't be harmed," Viro warned.

"You're not Gohan," Krillin growled.

"Very astute," Viro replied.

"I won't let you hurt my friends!" Krillin shouted as he prepared to attack.

"You don't have any choice in the matter, except for the option of leaving now while you can! Resistance doesn't help your cause, nor will it help any human on this planet!" Viro said.

"I don't care if you're a million times stronger than me! I'll take you down!" Krillin responded as his white aura appeared.

"Given your track record, that is highly unlikely. But go ahead, impress me!" Viro waved him on. Krillin charged in only to be punched into the distance by Viro. He sensed him land badly and his power dropped back to a normal level.

"Pathetic, what about you girly, you want some of me as well?" Viro dared 18 next. 18 was already shaking in anger, and in the back of her logical mind, she knew there was little to nothing she could do about it. She tried anyway by firing several ki blasts at Viro, who deflected them aside easily.

"You are a unique life form on this planet. Unlike the humans and Saiyans, I doubt my virus will work on an android," Viro noted as 18 caught her breath.

Her eyes opened wide, "What virus?"

"The one that is embedded within every human or Saiyan on this planet. The one that will kill everyone if my demands are not met. The one that is inside both that pitiful excuse of a husband and your precious daughter," Viro explained with a very evil grin.

"You bastard!" 18 snarled.

Viro glanced at Goku for a moment, "Soon to be, yes! I suggest you join my efforts. I could use an attractive slave girl on at my side. It does tend to get boring before and after my missions!"

"Forget it, chump, I'd never join the likes of you!" 18 said.

"Now now, don't be too hasty, especially when it could determine the life of your daughter and every other human on Earth!" Viro suggested.

"You wouldn't!" 18 gasped.

"You underestimate me then, a very stupid move. Tell you what, I'll make it easy for you! I'll let you decide who lives or dies. The choices are: your husband, or your daughter! All decisions are final, so choose quickly!" Viro laughed.

"I refuse to play your game asshole!" 18 growled.

"If you don't make a decision, I'll just kill them both right now," Viro said, crossing his arms. 18 shuddered slightly as she glared back in anger, unable to make such a choice.

"The clock is ticking you know," Viro reminded her ten seconds later. 18 still refused to answer, and in the process her eyes welled up with moisture.

"All right then, we'll say goodbye to Krillin now," Viro grinned. 18 heard her husband screaming in pain a moment later just she sensed his power drop to dangerous levels.

"I doubt you can hear your daughter screaming from this far away, but you're welcome to try and listen to it. I'll get rid of that annoying old man while I'm at it!" Viro said in a very eerie and calm voice. 18's fists clenched together so tight that they drew blood as she struggled with herself, knowing there was little to nothing she could do about it.

"You monster," she grumbled.

"Coming from a robot, I'll take it as a compliment," Viro replied. 18 screamed in anger and flew at him fast, nearly hitting him with her first and only punch. One hit to the kidneys from Viro put her on the ground, and the following kick put her out cold as she landed near Bardock.

"Next!" Viro taunted as Goku struggled to get to his feet.

"No, Kakarot!" Bardock whispered.

"I won't let you get away with this!" Goku growled as he held his stomach protectively, walking towards Viro.

"Uh huh," Viro said, not amused in the least. Goku turned Super Saiyan once again as he flew directly at Viro, and fell back to normal when he was backhanded harshly.

"I suggest you stay down, you probably won't want to be in the crossfire here in a few moments. Besides, I promised Frost I would keep your head as a trophy, it would be a shame if it was blasted off while I'm dealing with your friends! Now if you'll excuse me, I have another annoying pack of monkeys to deal with!" Viro chuckled as he spotted the vapor trails in the sky. Almost all at once, six Saiyans and one Namek dropped to the ground, all of them looking quite ready to fight him.

* * *

_Why don't you let me be  
Leave me alone  
You start a fire inside that I could never control  
You wanna see a reaction_

I scowled at Gohan as I landed with the other Saiyans with Piccolo in tow. Calling him Gohan wasn't even right, just the dark look from his eyes was enough to set the real Gohan and the villain Viro apart. I didn't take my eyes off him as I scanned all nearby energy levels.The only one that felt critical was Vegeta's, but I didn't like the way Krillin, Goku and Bardock's were falling, it was much too fast. _Well at least they are all still alive, but everyone's ki signal is very weak, especially Vegeta's. This virus is even more potent than I thought. As much as I want to test my new skills, I need to hurry. A knockdown drag out struggle with my defensive moves probably would be better against Gohan's abilities, but we don't have the time._

"Ah, the rest of the cavalry! Tell me, what is the afterlife like anyway?" Viro asked first.

"Funny you should ask, you'll know soon enough," I replied.

"I was asking the adults, not you brat!" he snapped back.

"Humph, if that really is Gohan underneath that skin, you would know that your biggest obstacle is me," I snorted slightly.

"I know you're a tough little brat, but you are no match for this body's superior power. I'll demonstrate that is you would like," Viro suggested, dropping into a stance. I repeated the action, powering up to Super Mystic as I did.

"Come on, kid, let us help you! Don't leave us hanging while you have all the fun!" Tora whined a bit.

"Oh, I'll make sure to save some for you, but I can't promise which body part it will be," I said as I reached full power.

"I'm not sure what is more ridiculous, a pack of Saiyans letting a kid go first, or your arrogance. Both are signs of a desperate pack of fools!" Viro frowned.

"Yeah, we'll see about that, you guys keep an eye on them! I'll take care of this creep," I said as I charged a lot of power into my fist as I prepared to attack first, making it glow much brighter than it had been. _Might as well start with a big one first, but I don't want to blow up the planet or anything, that would defeat the purpose of coming back early. It doesn't look like Goku or the others were able to do much damage to him aside from the burnt clothes._

_Come on and cut me down  
You've gone as far as I'll go  
Now you're crossing the line  
And I am letting you know  
Well here's your reaction_

_Stand up!  
I have had enough!_

"Go ahead, brat, give me your best shot!" Viro dared, taking a defensive stance as he pointed to his gut. _That I will!_ I rushed at him and punched forward, releasing my pent up power on impact.

"Super Galic Fist!" Viro wasn't sure what to make of the name of the attack, but he felt the impact when I nailed him square in the stomach and released the energy. I lost track of him a moment later in the bright green flash that surrounded him, but the scream of pain was unmistakable. Once the roar of power cleared, I spotted Viro laid out on the ground a good distance away, with a very battered and bruised stomach. _Damn, that was effective, but knowing Gohan's body, it probably isn't enough._ As usual when it comes to hunches, I was right. Viro slowly collected himself and stood back up, wincing slightly. His energy dropped a bit, making his power closer to mine overall, but his awareness of the situation probably rose a couple of notches as he glared back at me.

_Walk away before I finish what you started  
Face to face I will put you in your place  
End this game before I finish what you started  
Face to face everything will change_

"That got the blood flowing, I see I have underestimated one of you Saiyans once again," he said.

"You probably won't be the last one to do that. I'll make sure I pass the message along to your boss when I see him!" I growled as I drew my Chi sword. Viro's eyebrow went up as I stalked towards him.

"You do realize that you are only hurting Gohan with your attacks, but not me!" he said.

"Don't you think I know that? As much of a friend that Gohan is, I know he would rather I kill him to get rid of a threat to the world like you. He was willing to do the same for me not long ago, I plan to return the favor!" I shouted as I flew straight at him. Viro grinned slightly just as I sensed a small Chi surge. A blast formed in his hand and came straight at me, but I knocked it away easily. About a dozen more followed, all of them receiving the same treatment with the tip of my blade. The last one however was held back and seemed to lose energy. I could feel it being concentrated into something though, and slowed to a halt while he decided what the hell he was going to do with it. Then the blast expanded slightly before it stretched out into a three-foot long blade, just like my sword. _Okay, he has been dipping into some serious memories if he's learning my techniques._

"So, care to tell me when the hell you learned that one? I doubt it was too long ago, otherwise I would have known," I said.

"Yes, it seems I may have slightly copied your little technique, but Gohan has had the potential for it all along. Luckily, I have his memories to thank in regard to its many uses. I think it should be appropriate for you to die at the end of your own attack!" he declared.

"Yeah, right. I tear through creeps like you before I even touch my breakfast. If that's the best you can do, then you might as well quit!" I suggested as I clenched my sword with both hands. He stepped forward and swung the new sword straight at me. I blocked easily before he started pushing down as hard as he could. I pushed back and started releasing more energy to keep up the effort just as I sensed him do the same. The grounds started to split and shake as we powered up, and I saw the sudden strain on his face to finish me off with his newly learned technique. I gave enough effort to keep up with him, knowing that eventually he would wear me down with his slightly higher power level. I sensed him give that little something extra and then charged forward as I kept my block with my sword. I kicked his sword arm straight up as he lost his balance, and he lost control of his sword as well. I sensed it losing energy as it fell right at me, and instead of deflecting it, I flooded it with my own power, catching it in my other hand a moment later. Viro spun just as I charged in, one sword ready to take his head off and the other keeping guard. He jumped into the air just as I swung, barely nicking his boot in the process. He glided backwards and spun just as I launched one of the swords at him like a blast. He narrowly dodged and took his eye off me, I followed his momentum and slashed downwards just as I charged my other sword with a ton of energy, making it much longer than before. He detected the energy fast enough to stop quickly and dodge the other way as I swung down, leaving quite a long gash in the ground. He nearly hit the other sword-blast as it blew up nearby, then changed directions and flew straight up. I reabsorbed my main sword and followed as he soared into the air.

_You planted the seed  
How my anger has grown  
Got an feeling inside that I can't seem to control  
You wanna see a reaction_

As I tracked his motion, I noticed he was not slowing down at all, he seemed to be blatantly running away from me. His speed increased, but he kept going straight up, never even hinting at changing directions. I allowed my eyes to narrow a bit as we soared towards the clouds, and he was leading me this far for a reason it seemed. _Hmmm, perhaps he knows that me and Gohan can survive in space in this form, maybe he's taking this battle up there in hopes to separate me from the others. I'll play along for now, I'll certainly have an easier time firing off big attacks if it comes to that!_ Sure enough, Viro was heading into the upper atmosphere, leaving a very direct trail for me to follow. We passed the cloud layers as the air became slightly colder and much thinner. I felt my Chi energy start to warm me a little more and provide oxygen as I suddenly passed through the final piece of atmosphere and into the frigid blackness of space. Viro was floating up there and waiting for me, before he turned and flew even further off, as quickly as possible. In only a few minutes we were in a very high orbit around earth, and we stared each other down as the blue planet below waited in anticipation.

_Come on and cut me down  
You've gone as far as I'll go  
Now you're crossing the line and I am letting you know  
Well here's your reaction_

_Stand up  
I have had enough_

"So, your body can withstand the harsh environment of space as well. This should be interesting then!" Viro said with a tight grin.

"Try not to act surprised. If you can truly access all of Gohan's memories, you would know that I did it first!" I replied with an irritated tone.

"You're right. This should be quite thrilling. I don't think two Saiyans have ever had a battle in space before, not without some sort of environmental suits on. I guess the first one out of power will be the loser!" he said with a chuckle. I smirked back at him, knowing that Gohan's power wouldn't allow him to stay at Super Mystic for as long as I could potentially go. Something else was that if his virus traveled by air when he released it, I was going to be relatively safe from breathing it in up here with the exception of close combat, but I doubted that I even needed to worry. _That is assuming though that I haven't already caught it in the short time I've been back and in the close combat with him. Well, so far, so good. _

_Walk away before I finish what you started  
Face to face I will put you in your place  
End this game before I finish what you started  
Face to face everything will change_

"All right then, you leave the earth out of it and we can settle this up here!" I said, trying to lay down some sort of rule.

"They will stay out of it as long as you are alive. The instant you lose, all bets are off!"

"I'm not the one who's going to lose!" I shouted, charging two quick Chi blasts and firing them. Viro knocked them both away before lowering into a stance as I charged in. I phased out just as he swung at me, dodging to his left and then moving directly below him so my next attack was not going to hit the Earth if he dodged. I charged up my fist again, and he cautiously halted and waited to see what I had planned.

"Surely you don't think I'm going to give you another free shot, do you?" he asked.

"You tell me!" I grinned, charging in with my fist drawn back. He lowered into a defensive stance, but judging by the way his body was tilted, he planned on dodging, most likely to my right. _You guessed wrong bucko. _

"Super - Galic...!" I started my chant just as I closed within fifteen feet, flying fast. He phased out to the side just as I made the motion of punching forward. I followed through with the swing, but never released the energy as he flew away in the direction I expected. He grinded to a halt and came flying back to me to catch me off guard, but in reality, he only fell for my trap when I shifted my posture and locked my arm into position.

"Final Shine, Attack!" I shouted, firing the concentrated beam from my hand. Viro's eyes lit up in surprise as he flew right into the path of the big bright green beam, with no feasible way to escape it. The beam didn't blow up when I expected it to, and I frowned, knowing exactly what he had done to escape it. I glanced over to the side, seeing Viro panting slightly as he wiped his brow in relief.

"Well, that was a close shave. Another one like that and I'll start thinking you don't like me anymore," I said with a confident grin. Viro's energy fluctuated a bit later as he was attempting to pull more power up. His signal took a slight dip as he did so, and was wavering quite a bit on control. _Looks like it's time to start being a little more aggressive so I can wear him down, his power is already starting to drop a bit._ _This does seem a bit too easy considering its Gohan, but there's a possibility that he didn't count on my enhanced senses to keep one step ahead of him. Maybe that Galic Fist weakened him more than I thought and he's just not used to Gohan's body yet. In either case, now is a good time to get aggressive. _I charged in as he regained his bearings and punched straight towards his head. He blocked and returned fire with a roundhouse kick, one that I ducked under easily. I kicked towards his legs suddenly as an attempt to get him to dodge in the direction that I wanted him to. I quickly charged up my fist again as he jumped upwards and hovered over me, wide open. I flew straight up and smashed into his already bruised stomach, getting the reaction I wanted when I heard the spit and blood leave his mouth. I didn't hesitate and flipped around so I was facing him, going after the same spot in his midsection several times over with quick, hard punches and kicks, all full of green light. Viro was stunned badly, and had trouble reacting to one blow before I gave him three more. His dropping power surged one more time, enough to teleport away just as I missed punching his face. He darted away with a decent lead on me, heading back towards Earth.

_Insult  
After Insult_

_After Insult_

_After Insult_

_Stand up!  
I have had enough!_

I sensed his power was dropping quickly, so I could only guess that he was starting to lose the form. _Then again, he was taking on Vegeta, Goku and Bardock. Even if he used a very low amount of power against those three, which is unlikely, staying in that form to avoid getting killed was probably enough to take it out of him._ I charged after Viro as fast as I could, who was headed towards the upper atmosphere as quickly as possible. Just before he got to the outer layers of thin air, I sensed his power plunge as his hair turned back to black. He had plenty of momentum to carry him into the atmosphere, but he had to hold his breath for a few seconds, which gave me a chance to catch him by surprise. I changed directions just slightly, putting me about half a mile from where he entered as I charged up my next attack.

"Super Galic Gun!" I shouted as I released certain doom for Viro-Gohan. The beam roared through the upper atmosphere just as Viro caught his breath. He didn't look up in time and was hit directly by the beam. I shut off the flow of energy and flew towards him quickly as he struggled with the large ball of Chi that pushing against him. He managed to summon enough power to deflect it upwards before it exploded, but I flew towards the energy ball while activating my sword.

_Walk away before I finish what you started  
Face to face I will put you in your place  
End this game before I finish what you started  
Face to face everything will change_

"Hey Viro!" I shouted just as I stopped above. He was busy panting, but paused and looked up, with a very concerned look on his face.

"Catch!" I said with a grin as I batted my Chi ball back at him. He was unable to make a move to get out of the way, and plunged with it towards Earth, with me in hot pursuit. Both the energy ball and Viro fell at a screaming rate towards the ground, approaching the original battlefield quickly as I lagged behind a bit. I sensed his sudden desperation and felt a tiny bit of Psi being called up, but it didn't feel like enough for instant transmission. Viro managed to shift his body around to where he and the energy ball were falling side by side, and then I saw what he was doing. He created a Psi blade and plunged it into the side of the Galic ball, draining its energy right away until he had absorbed it all. He floated towards the ground and landed safely just as I arrived. _Smart move, but I doubt he's going to get that much out of it._ I was right, I estimated that he had only absorbed enough to power him back to his maximum in Mystic form, including the extra ki he had hidden away. I doubted he had enough Psi to achieve Super Mystic again, but either way I would have to be careful using too many energy attacks on him.

"Heh, well, boy...! It seems that energy of yours has given me a bit of a boost!"

"Only because your copying my technique, not exactly impressive if you ask me," I said with a stout grin.

"We'll see now, won't we? I think it's quite ironic that I should take a play from your book since you have done that to others ever since you arrived here," he replied.

"I think you had better be concerned with the fact that I won't give you a chance like that again. You may have recovered a bit of your Psi energy, but it isn't enough to maintain the Super Mystic form. Now that you are back down to this level, I'm going to tear you apart!" I boasted, having more than enough to back it up. He started laughing immediately, making me believe something was out of place. _He must have something up his sleeve if he's still this confident, even Gohan would know better. I seriously doubt he's already at his wit's end. That's fine, though - I still have two shots at full power to use before I start losing energy. At some point though, I need to surprise him with the feedback wave. _

_Walk away  
Everything will change  
End this game  
You wanna see a reaction  
You wanna see a reaction  
Stand up!_

"Hahahaha! That's a funny joke, want to tell me another? None of you are going to beat me, least of all you!" he shouted as he snapped his finger. I sensed something change suddenly. I wasn't sure what it was or where it was, but the way Viro continued to laugh afterwards, it couldn't be good.

_ "Stand up" by Trapt._

**Power levels:**

**Super Mystic Verto: 620,000,000**

**Super Mystic Viro-Gohan: 700,000,000; weakened: 640,000,000 (drops); normal form: 580,000,000**

**Goku (SS3): 590,000,000; SS2: 400,000,000 (drops quickly)**

**Krillin: 26,000,000**

**18: 60,000,000**

**Next time on DBV: Verto continues his assault on Viro. Just as things are looking good, Verto's power begins to drop rapidly, a result of the virus inflicting him. Viro strikes back and puts Verto out of the fight momentarily when his ki nearly runs out completely. The others join in while Verto tries to cure himself using the same technique that freed him from the Zerg. But even if he can cure himself, can he muster up the power to defeat Viro?**


	41. Terror of the Virus

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 40: The Terror of the Virus **

"So, care to tell me what is so funny, I'm afraid I didn't catch the joke," I said with a frown as Viro continued to laugh.

"Its just that you have just lost this battle. The funny thing is that you don't even know it yet. I imagine you will shortly," Viro grinned. _Oh yeah, definitely up to something. Time to burn him. _

I lifted an eyebrow in response, "Your jokes are about as good as your tactics so far. I'd like to see you prove that," I said as I beckoned him to attack.

"That I will!" he shouted as he charged towards me. I grinned slightly and lifted a single hand, charging a weak but positively charged Chi ball. Viro slowed when he saw the bright blue ball of energy, and stopped with slight look of concern.

"What's wrong, you were so confident a moment ago?" I asked. Viro didn't answer, and even backed up a step when I started charging another small energy ball with my other hand.

"It seems I underestimated your abilities," Viro muttered aloud.

"You've only joined the club of villains that I've taken down. Now eat this! Spirit Bomb!" I shouted as I launched the first ball at him. Viro jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding the first one. I managed to keep my next grin down as I started charging up my right hand again. As Viro watched the mini-Spirit bomb fly away, I fired the other one at a slow pace just as I formed my sword again. _Okay, I'll bet he teleports behind me this time. _Viro gasped and used instant transmission to avoid the second one, and reappeared just a few feet away, as I expected him too. I swung into him just as he stopped in surprise. I sensed a desperate energy wave form in his hand, and his Psi sword formed just in the nick of time, but at an odd angle, which gave me the advantage. Viro struggled as I pushed hard towards him, and was frozen in place knowing that I would cut him apart if he tried anything too sudden. I grinned and cast my hand out, using my power to draw one of the spirit bombs back towards us from behind. Viro saw this coming and prepare to jump back just as it would hit him. Instead I pulled it closer and allowed it to surge through my body and through the sword. My sword temporarily turned white before moving into Viro's blue blade and giving him quite a shock. He dropped his energy sword quickly just as the bomb ran out of energy, very lucky that the feedback effect didn't get him as he stared at his hands in relief. I jumped on the chance and rushed a knee into his gut before punching him hard in the face with a backhand, sending him flying backwards with my non-sword hand. _I've got him._ I quickly reabsorbed my sword and powered up my two fingers as I held them in front of my forehead, with Viro's flailing form in my sights. _It may not benefit from the extra power output, but this will still hurt him if it lands._ I sensed Viro start to recover, and finished my blast quickly.

"Spirit Beam Cannon!" The screw beam sped towards Viro as he lifted up and saw it coming with only a second to spar. His aura appeared as he formed a small energy shield just in time to block against it. He struggled for a moment before releasing more power to deflect it into the sky. He dropped this shield right away and gasped for breath. I felt a little faint myself, but figured it was just the excitement.

"So, I'm going to lose?" I asked. _One more shot, I've got to land it this time. If I don't, I may have to use the Kaioken attack and simply wish back Gohan later, I can't let this go on much longer. _

"Oh yes, you should be feeling your limit any time now!" he boasted again a few seconds later. I stared at him strangely as I felt a slight energy drain. _Uh oh, I don't like the feel of that. _He attacked just as I sensed that strange spike in energy. I deflected his initial punch, but was unable to detect the next one until I had already been hit. I couldn't count the number of punches that I was hit by next, but it wasn't a small number to be certain. When he finally stopped, I found it difficult to move, and my whole body started to ache just as a severe nauseous feeling came over me.

"What...the...hell?" I whispered.

"Having a little trouble standing are we?" Viro chuckled. _Shit, already infected. _I scanned my own energy and found it to be draining very quickly. _No way - ! No fucking way is his virus this fast!_ As much as I didn't want to admit it though, it was affecting me much faster than any normal virus should. I felt my own ki separating out from my Psi and I dropped to one knee as I lost the Super Mystic power within seconds.

"My my, are you quitting already? What would Vegeta think of you now?" he taunted.

"H-How did you infect me already?" I asked.

"Dear boy, you were infected the instant you set foot on this planet. My virus can lay in its dormant state for several months in just the open air. You and your friends were dead the instant you came back to life!" he explained. I growled slightly as I felt my power slipping even further away.

"I guess you aren't much of a threat anymore are you?" he asked as he glanced towards the others. I ignored his comment and took note that my Psi energy hadn't dissipated at all. _This must be how he beat Vegeta and Goku so quickly, the drain of ki plus the big attacks they used on him! Staying powered up must hurt more than help. I guess I'll be fighting with Psi only then!_ I stood up shakily, shutting down my flow of ki and reworking my Psi to be my primary energy. Once I did this, the extreme feeling of nausea passed, and my aches and pains eased up slightly, though that wasn't the case for the splitting headache that tagged along. I felt the great wave of fatigue that typically follows illness symptoms, and it wasn't a good feeling either given the situation. Viro barely took note of this, and continued to laugh a bit. Piccolo and the others were looking slightly panicked now that they likely didn't feel much power coming off of me.

"So, who's next? The boy obviously can't take anymore of this!" Viro challenged. _Fucking cheating bastard. _I scowled at this as I continually scanned the energy levels around me. The other Saiyans hadn't been affected yet from what I could tell, but it could be any moment just like it was with me. I wasn't sure if Piccolo was going to be affected or not, but odds are he was going to end up getting involved, the ugly glare he was giving Viro was more than unnerving. I set my sights back on Viro himself, noting that his Psi energy was still very low despite the blast he had absorbed. _Well, if we can get him to burn that little bit up, he's going to be very vulnerable once he can't absorb any more through the sword. I'd guess he'll use it all for me if I act fast enough._ I quickly released a large field of invisible Psi and slowly moved it towards him, watching what he would do about it. I could have channeled it through my palm for a faster reaction, but my glowing hands might have given it away, and he probably would have sensed it much easier. He made no real reaction while he watched the other Saiyans play rock paper scissors. Tora declared victory a moment later and started to power up as he stalked forward. Viro shifted his attention completely to Tora, and I took the chance to act on it as my energy field was almost directly over his head. He still made no real reaction with the slowly rotating threat about his head, and while pushing through my nasty headache, I focused it quickly down on him. He finally noticed just when the Psi Storm bolts were only a few feet away, and teleported to avoid them, with a very surprised look on his face.

"Sorry dickhead, we're not done yet!" I shouted up at him as I dropped into a stance, panting slightly just from getting up. _Man, even without using ki this virus is taking it out of me. I guess I'm lucky that Gohan isn't very adept at detecting invisible energy fields like that, otherwise he could have just absorbed it again._

"I doubt you want to fight me now boy. You'll only shorten the rest of your life, which won't be long as it is!"

"Yeah, I get it! Save me the villain speech!" I said with a slight growl. He suddenly phased out and vanished, and I could barely track him. I was floored from behind by a boot and picked myself out of the dirt a moment later, slightly stunned at the fact that I couldn't feel it coming, even with the instant transmission. _Damnit, since I can't use any ki, my senses are going to be impaired. I need to seriously think about doing something about this virus before I think about going after him again._ As I barely got back to my feet, I heard him stepping up behind me. I spun quickly, only to receive a backhand to the face, opening up my nose for a massive red leak. I flew backwards from the blow, gliding to a stop and holding back the flood that was trying to come out of my sinuses. I glared up at Viro, who was stomping towards me with a vicious grin on his face. My lungs suddenly filled up and I was forced to cough out a red mess, which deflected my attention from the next attack. Like the previous few, I couldn't see it coming either, and he kicked my stomach so hard that I thought his boot had gone through my back. I found myself sailing into the air and then dropping onto the hard ground near the other Saiyans.

"Unless you want to die again so soon boy, I suggest you stay down!" Viro shouted as I struggled to see which star was the prettiest.

"I think you should try to recover kid, we'll take him on!" Tora said as he, Fasha, Borgos and Shugesh all powered up to Super Saiyan 2. Piccolo threw down his weighted clothes and joined them in surrounding Viro a moment later, who looked quite confident.

"No, ugh, damnit! Don't take him on, it's only a wasted effort! That virus drains your energy!" I warned, coughing up some blood in the process as I sat up.

"Dear boy, what makes you think I need to use the virus to kill off these weaklings? It doesn't matter whether they give you time to recover or not, you're all going to die!" Viro declared suddenly, angering the rest of them quickly. He had a point though, he was quite a bit stronger than all them, and he had a few rounds of instant transmission to go with it. _Damnit,_ _I don't have much time left. I need to take care of this virus problem before I try to take him on again, I'm not even using ki and I'm getting drained. But at the same time I need to hurry this up to save everyone. Shit, I've got no choice but to drag this out longer, it's the only way to win. _I got to my knees for a moment before settling into sitting Indian style so I could concentrate.

I heard Lenz step up behind me a second later, "Hey, you okay?" she asked.

"Not really..." A short cough. "Stay here and cover me while I deal with this stupid virus!" I said, coughing lightly as I watched the ensuing battle with a focused glare.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, curious.

"My Psi energy allows for special abilities that are hard to comprehend. I dealt with one infection with it while dealing with the Zerg and I'm going to try the same thing again. Hopefully it works the same. I figure that if I can basically wipe out something that practically re-wrote my DNA, I can handle a virus," I explained.

"But won't you just get infected again, won't it be pointless since there is no cure? I mean can't he just infect you again afterwards?" she asked. _Good point, just like King Kai suggested might happen with the wish. _

"I don't know, but I have to try," I said sharply, focusing on my body.

"Why can't we just all swarm him and wipe him out that way? Maybe with one big combined blast?" she asked.

"It won't work, if he infects everyone by the time we pull it off, we would be sitting ducks while he has instant transmission at this disposal. It will only tire us out more! Now let me concentrate on this!" I snapped at her, prompting her to shut up. I settled down and attempted to calm myself, which was slightly difficult now that my breath was short. I powered up with all of my Psi, smothering every part of my body with focused energy. My whole body then glowed brightly with a thin but concentrated layer of blue energy. With that done, I searched deep within myself to find the viral cells. One way or another, the virus was going to be leaving my body soon.

**Interlude 40.1: Battlefield of Despair**

Viro-Gohan glanced at Verto's now glowing blue form, trying to figure out what the boy was up to. He could sense that he was using a lot of his Psi energy to do something other than power up, but wasn't sure what. He also didn't have time to dwell on it, as Piccolo and the four other Super Saiyans had surrounded him. Shugesh rushed in first from Viro's right, getting his punch blocked before Viro kicked him away. Tora came up from behind and almost took Viro's head off with a hard double-ax handle, but missed when he ducked out of the way. Borgos flew in just as Viro glided past Tora and tried the same thing, narrowing missing. Fasha didn't bother attacking head on and instead fired a small array of ki blasts at Viro. The villain deflected them all, but lost track of Piccolo momentarily. He suddenly sensed him above, coming in for the attack. Viro saw Tora and Shugesh coming at him at the same time and teleported out instantly just as they nearly hit each other. He reappeared next to Fasha, swinging his forearm into her back like a hammer. She cried out in pain before skidding to a halt and charging back at him. He phased out again and nailed Borgos with a front kick to the jaw before letting him have it in the stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground. Shugesh charged after him but missed when he vanished again. Viro pummeled Shugesh from behind an instant later, holding him up by the front of his armor as he punched him repeatedly.

"You low life Saiyan trash came back to life at a very poor time. Can't you see that it is fruitless to fight me?" Viro asked.

"Special Beam Cannon!" Piccolo shouted, firing from directly below. Viro dropped Shugesh and deflected the screw beam away, a bit surprised by Piccolo's sudden attack.

"Why don't you come out of my friend's body so we can settle this man-to-man!" Piccolo dared.

"What for, so I can fight honorably? That wouldn't be very fair! There isn't a point to that either, and since you are a Namek, you are immune to my virus's effects! I could infect you and your kind after I'm done with them, but I think I'll settle for killing you off with this body! It has a certain ironic twist to it," Viro grinned. Piccolo answered with a sudden string of rapid-fire ki blasts, all of which Viro deflected while keeping his wide grin. Piccolo spotted Tora and Fasha flying up behind Viro and kept up his effort. Viro suddenly glanced back as he sensed them and phased out. Piccolo guessed at his most likely destination and swung his elbow backwards, nailing a surprised Viro in the side of the face. Piccolo didn't hesitate and unloaded on Viro with dozens of punches and the occasional kick thrown in, but frowned when they did little to nothing. Viro grinned as he recovered and started blocking all of the Namek's blows with ease. Viro spotted Tora and Fasha chasing after him again and phased out just as Piccolo threw a punch into his midsection. Tora and Fasha were taken out of the air when he reappeared and clotheslined them both at the same time. Due to their own momentum, they both flipped around and were smacked by a simultaneous knife hand chop to their backs, sending them into the ground. Viro then concentrated on them both for a moment, grinning slightly when he felt their ki levels dropping off and sending them back to normal mode. He detected Shugesh sneaking up on him a moment later and activated the virus in him as well. He didn't have to wait but a moment before Shugesh slowed and held his stomach in surprise. Viro punched him directly in the head when his guard went down, nearly knocking out the large Saiyan as he tumbled to the ground. Borgos came after Viro in a fit of rage after sensing his comrades go down. He blazed in and punched wildly while Viro dodged all of his attacks, grinning all the way as he let the big Saiyan wear himself out. Borgos slowed down tremendously about a minute later, feeling quite ill himself. Viro let him continue until he slowed so much that he struggled to throw a punch even at low speed. His arms dropped and hung loosely as he caught his breath and fell completely out of Super Saiyan, slowly drifting to the ground. Viro wasn't content enough to let him go down without a good hit, and phased out, bashing him in the temple instantly.

Viro chuckled slightly at the ease of the battle, then sensed a number of ki blasts coming his way, courtesy of Piccolo. He immediately tried to use instant transmission and got no real response out of his energy. _Blast it, I burned up too much of Gohan's Psi energy. Oh well, I shouldn't need it now that the small fry is out of the fight!_ Viro dodged the regular way, phasing in and out occasionally as the ki blasts went right on by him.

"Come on you, filthy Namek! This can't be your best!" Viro dared. He was correct in that assumption when he glanced up and saw several dozen ki balls floating up there, all controlled by Piccolo. Viro frowned with slight concern, mostly because he had underestimated Piccolo and overestimated himself just a bit. Piccolo didn't hesitate once he saw that Viro wasn't getting away so easily, and moved the ki blasts around in a tight circle before sending them screeching towards Viro-Gohan all at once. A bright flash filled the landscape as the blasts pummeled Viro, leaving behind a lot of smoke and ash. Piccolo sighed slightly as all of his blasts eventually dissipated, but then gasped loudly. Viro emerged from the smoke, only slightly damaged and angry. He phased out and pounded Piccolo's head in, sending spit flying as he fell to the ground. Viro lifted back into the air and raised his hands to above his head.

"Now you die, Namek!" he growled as he charged up a large and powerful ki blast above his head. Piccolo sweated nervously as he struggled to move on the ground, knowing that whatever Viro had in mind, it would probably kill him at this level. His attention was drawn away by a scream to his left, and he spotted Verto powering up with a very violent silver aura, filled with blue lightning that literally streaked off of him and struck the air randomly for about a ten foot radius around him. Lenz was nearly struck by one and backed off quickly as she looked on in slight fear. Viro glanced over as well, shocked that the child was even standing.

"Now what?" Viro snarled as he matched Verto's piercing glare. Viro saw that Verto's eyes were glowing bright blue now, and it even shined through the whites of his eyes as occasionally lightning streaked out of them as well. Viro suddenly felt a wave of fear wash over him as he realized that even Gohan hadn't seen this before. _What is he planning?_

--

It took a little while, but I managed to isolate all traces of Viro's blasted virus and wiped it out with my Psi energy. As I got all of it out and gave my body's defense system a rest, I used what was left of my ki to heal my body a bit along with my Psi as a booster. It wasn't much, but once I got to a point where I wasn't sore or even tired again, I let the adrenaline rush do the rest as I concentrated on Viro. He had knocked all of the other Saiyans out of the fight with his cheap virus quickly, and I was intent on making him pay for it. When Piccolo used his guided scattershot, he gave me an idea I wanted to try on Viro now that I had gotten rid of the virus. At the moment though, I had more pressing matters to attend to as Piccolo was about to be silenced permanently. I powered up fully with Psi, and then used my angry emotions to increase its potency several times over, which caused quite a violent lightning filled aura to be released, much like my Super Mystic aura I suppose. I lifted into the air as Viro held a blast that felt like it would do much more to Piccolo than blow off an arm. I quickly scanned Viro's energy, finding he was just now starting to weaken a bit in the overall ki department, likely due to the toughness of Gohan's body. His Psi was completely depleted due to using instant transmission so much, I doubted he could even try to form the sword now. It didn't matter to me though, I didn't plan on giving him enough time to form it if I could help it.

"Well, well! Still got some fight left in you kid? Frankly I don't see how, my little virus should have wiped out your energy by now!" Viro boasted as he turned his hand slightly as if to aim at me and Lenz, who was still standing by behind me.

"Lenz get back, I'm gonna take care of this guy right now and you don't want to get in the cross fire!" I replied, ignoring Viro completely.

"Aren't you going to answer me brat? Where's that incredible wit of yours?" Viro shouted down. He sounded like he was pretending to be confident, as I could suddenly sense fear coming from him. I straightened out and got a good feel for the blast in Viro's hands, and knew that even if I dodged it, it could hurt someone nearby, or even go through the ground and blow up the Earth in the process. I frowned and focused on myself for the moment, linking my energy up for a potentially dangerous test of my body.

"If you aren't going to at least humor me, I suppose its time to end this!" Viro declared as he fired the blast directly at me. This time I responded, and his jaw dropped when my aura shifted colors to dark blue.

"Kaio-ken!" I shouted, getting an incredible surge of energy a moment later. I almost lost myself in the sudden power boost, and then locked eyes with Viro as I released a ton of power into the air through my brightly glowing hand, more than enough to match his blast. I stopped it from going far and concentrated it about ten feet away in a quick rotating field. He was stunned to say the least when I deflected his blast with my Psi shield technique, sending it into the upper atmosphere quickly. He then let loose with a rapid-fire ki blast attack, bouncing them all off my bright blue shield a moment later.

"How are you doing this?" he shouted in between blasts.

"Your virus can only affect so many people before a cure is found. Luckily, I'm very resourceful!" I said sternly. After he saw that none of his smaller blasts were going to get through, he dropped back and charged up a big one. To me, it was a mockery of the Son family.

"Okay you despicable brat, you asked for it! You may have cleared yourself from my virus's effects, now let's see you stop this one! Ka - me - ha - me…!" he shouted and chanted, forming the blue turtle beam behind him. _Big mistake, I've got you now! _I quickly moved straight towards him, charging a great deal of Psi energy into my right hand. To throw him off the trail, I dropped the shield on purpose, even though the energy was still there.

"Are you that eager to die you brat?" he asked. I didn't answer and kept my focus on his beam, feeling it finish and preparing my retaliation. I lifted my hand and locked it into a gun like pose to help concentrate my attack a little better as I aimed directly at him. I used some of my remaining energy to form my shield with my left hand, to block what was likely going to be a bigger blast than expected, but it wasn't Viro's blast I was concerned with.

"Shock Cannon!" I shouted just as he moved, and sent a large lightning bolt packed with a nearly equal amount of energy directly at his beam, much faster than he could release his own wave.

"HAAA!!!" He shouted, bringing his arms forward. The reaction was immediate, and a huge green explosion filled the skies as I was forced back by the variation of the Shock Cannon. It was much more powerful than the one I had used on Janemba, and I knew it had to have had an impact on Viro. I wasn't sure if it was as powerful as my final attack against the Overmind, but it had to have been close. I stopped channeling the Kaioken technique once I was safely away from the huge explosion, giving me a chance to catch my breath as the bright light slowly cleared out. I didn't sense Viro-Gohan initially, but given the size of the explosion, I wasn't surprised. Hell, most of the nearby area had flattened out due to its power. I spotted him falling to the ground a moment later, his ki level plummeting as fast as he was. He landed hard and I managed to relax a bit as he lay motionless on the ground.

"Wow kid, nice one!" Lenz shouted from below. I glanced at her with a brief smile before heading towards Viro. I scanned his power level several more times, finding that he was not only still alive, but he still had some power left. It wasn't much though, my Psi level alone was more than double his total power despite using a lot of it up during the Kaioken surge. I sensed him start to stir, and groaned a bit myself. _That's just like Gohan, tough as nails. I've used up most of my power now thanks to that damn virus, time to start tapping the reserves. It doesn't matter now, though. He's lost almost eighty percent of his power. This fight is over!_

-

Viro looked quite angry as he barely pulled himself up from the ground, one arm dangling loosely and the other holding his bleeding stomach. "You miserable child, you've ruined this body!" he snarled as I landed about ten yards away.

"Get over it, you won't have a body pretty soon!" I replied calmly.

"And neither will the rest of the Earth!" he said as that sick grin of his returned. I instantly felt the rest of the Earth's energy shift towards a downward direction.

"What the hell did you do?" I asked as the overall ki energy from all the humans suddenly plunged.

"Since you Saiyans won't just give up and make it easy on those poor little humans that you protect, I'm taking care of them now! You may have cured yourself - now let's see you cure the whole planet. And as I understand it, your dragonballs aren't going to do any good this time! Muahahahahaha!" he cackled. I heard Piccolo cursing a moment later, and inwardly I joined him as I stared at the ground, knowing that I had failed them. _No, there has to be a way to save them, I won't accept that we've lost the Earth, I just won't! It's bad enough I've already lost one world due to Frieza and his goons, I'm not gonna lose this one too!_

"What's wrong, kid. We can't all have the last laugh you know!" Viro laughed again, his sick voice pressing my buttons a little more.

"I'm gonna make you pay for this!" I growled sharply as he continued to laugh at my dismay.

"Go ahead and make me pay, boy, it won't make a bit of difference. I've still won!" he replied. I walked straight towards him, with every intent on finishing this fight. Despite the grin on his face, I sensed a surge of anger from him, but it seemed deeper than that, like it was in fact Gohan that was getting angry. His power rose a little bit, but not much as he prepared himself for my next assault. _Anger and fear, great time for my attack. _I stopped and refocused my mind while charging a small Psi ball in my hand. Viro's grin vanished when he saw this, as he likely knew what it was from Gohan's memories. _That's fine, I've got another present for him even if he dodges it._

"Feedback!" I shouted, hurling the ball at him. I quickly set about forming my next attack as he prepped for the white ball, and it cooled my other hand off tremendously. I saw him duck my feedback ball and it went sailing past, vanishing eventually when it struck a hill since I didn't keep control of it once it was out of my hands. He turned around just as I finished my next attack, and looked very bewildered as to what it could be. That made sense. Gohan hadn't seen it either. Viro's energy flared, and to my surprise, he managed to form the Psi sword again. By what I could tell, he at least sensed that I had a Psi blast forming and it wasn't feedback. What he didn't know was what was going to happen as soon as he touched it.

"Get a taste of this Viro! Psi Freeze!" I shouted, throwing it at him. He grinned slightly and held his Psi blade at the ready, holding up the sword right in the path of my Psi ball. When it hit, he immediately tried to absorb it, and got the surprise of his life when the energy froze his hand and continued up his arm. He immediately tried to fix the problem by ejecting the energy out through his sword, but it was too late. The sword then vanished when he lost concentration as the ice continued through his arm and then over the chest and legs. In less than three seconds, Viro-Gohan had been successfully frozen and trapped for the moment. Piccolo's reaction was probably quite funny to see, but I didn't have time to care about that. I cleared my thoughts again and charged another feedback ball just as I felt him start to power up, no doubt figuring out that this was the Stasis field. _Doesn't matter, I've got him now. _Just as I sensed the ice start to melt, I fired the ball, watching it hit just as the ice blew apart. White lightning erupted from Viro and put him on the ground, with his aura still going. I sensed him become very angry and the effect nearly tripled in strength. _Wait a sec, if he has Gohan's memories, he should know that getting angry won't help him at all._

"Noooooo!" he shouted suddenly, not at anyone in particular either. Viro's power level fell and rose at regular rates and underneath his gray aura I noticed that there was some sort of smoke flowing out of his ears, nose and mouth, not unlike what I had seen out of Buu a time or two. Then I felt Gohan's purely good power signal returning, and Viro's leaving...then I knew. Gohan had been waiting for me to hit him with the Feedback technique so he take advantage of it and boot Viro out of his body. The smoke continued for a moment before it stopped completely and Gohan's energy vanished as he fell to the ground. As he fell, the feedback ball emerged once again and floated in mid air before dissipating as it ran out of energy. The smoke formed into a tight cloud of dull gray air before reshaping into an ugly looking white figure that looked no taller than I did. His body was small and underdeveloped, his head looked deformed with what looked like something similar to Buu's forelock sticking up, only it was much thicker like a hairstyle would be if he had any. His eyes were pale yellow and looking very wide open with surprise as he looked around. The main thing I noticed was the fact that I could still see through his body a bit like he was one of Gotenks' super ghosts. His power level was still considerable despite his lack of substance, but nothing I couldn't handle.

"How did you…?" he asked as he stared at his own hands that only had a thumb. I didn't answer, and powered up slowly as I stalked towards him.

"Hold on, aren't you going to let me go? I'm obviously helpless against your superior power! You don't want to sink to my level with a senseless murder, do you?" Viro pleaded, as if he was speaking to Goku.

"Don't waste your last words trying to trick me! I'll sink to any level to do away with your kind, you pathetic piece of shit! You're finished!" I growled as I stomped towards him.

**Power levels:**

**Verto (Psi only): 310,000,000; Kaioken: 465,000,000; weakened: 260,000,000**

**Viro-Gohan: 580,000,000; weakened: 120,000,000**

**Shock Cannon explosion: 880,000,000**

**Viro: 18,000,000**

**Piccolo: 240,000,000**

**Tora (SS2): 440,000,000 (drops quickly)**

**Fasha (SS2): 400,000,000 (ditto)**

**Shugesh (SS2): 415,000,000 (make it three)**

**Borgos (SS2): 410,000,000 (do I really need to say it)**

**Next time on DBV: Viro attempts to take on a weakened Verto, only to see his own plans backfire in his face as Verto brings the battle to its bitter end. With the entire planet infected by his deadly virus and the dragonballs useless, how will the Z fighters deal with the problem. Find out next time with the final chapter of the saga and the start of the next chapter of their lives.**


	42. Verto's Resolution

**I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the rights to any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them. **

**Chapter 41: Verto's Resolution **

_Here's the weight of the world on my shoulders  
Here's the weight of the world on my shoulders  
On my shoulders!_

"Well, this won't be a total loss, I suppose. I can always just take your body!" Viro declared as he floated towards me.

"I don't suggest trying that!" I warned as I quickly put up my energy shield. Viro's odd body made contact with it and was repelled quickly. I sent a small surge of Psi out from the shield, nearly hitting him with a series of lightning bolts.

"You can't get near me no matter what you do. I hope you're ready to die!" I shouted as I powered up.

Viro grew very nervous as my violent silver aura flashed into view, but seemed to keep his resolve and formed a large ki beam in his hands, firing a moment later. It was large enough to block him from my view, and judging by the amount of power he was sending down, I could use it to recover a bit myself. I quickly formed my sword just as the large ball of golden energy arrived, and I blocked against it so it could grow a bit to hide my intentions. Once I didn't see Viro anymore, I sensed him overpower his beam to attempt to finish me off, as he likely sensed that I didn't have much ki left. _Stupid, very stupid. Must have lost his brains now that he isn't using Gohan's anymore._ I quickly eased up off my block a bit before stabbing into the blast and turning my sword slightly, watching at the golden ki oozed into it. I pulled on this new energy and felt very refreshed as it soothed my tired body with fresh ki. I began powering up with it right away, and after a few seconds Viro shut off his beam, his power signal reeking with frustration. As soon as I absorbed it all, I fired a fresh ki blast right at Viro, one that was going to do more than sting. He panicked a bit before his form turned dull gray again and became that strange smoky cloud, to which the ki blast went right through, leaving a temporary hole that filled in right away.

"You won't be able to beat me now, boy, your attacks can't detonate if there is nothing to hit!" his voice said from the cloud.

"If you say so," I said, charging another frigid energy ball. The cloud started to move away, but due to his lack of form, he was now very slow.

"Psi Freeze!" I shouted again, launching it straight at Viro's gaseous form. The ice ball made contact with the cloud and instantly froze the small amount of water vapor it likely contained before expanding and forming a large crystalline stalactite standing about eight feet tall at the point and about six feet in diameter at the base. _Okay, time to see if my idea works, I can't risk him leaking out of the explosion before it gets all of him, only problem is that I don't have as much ki as I need to be sure the job is done._ Then I remembered Piccolo, who was standing by.

"Piccolo! Scattershot, but do not hit the Ice! Make them as equal in power as you can!" I shouted. Piccolo looked on in question, but nodded and fired fifteen separate blasts and held them in place around the solid stasis field as I rose into the air and locked my hand into position a little ways above. I relaxed and took a deep breath before concentrating my energy and loading up a lot of it for a massive lightning attack. My hand shook as I opened it and I steadied it with the other so I could focus.

"Shock Grenade!" I carefully split up the energy as it was discharged and sent it screeching into the ki balls, creating several smaller green Shock Cannon explosions around the Ice form, shattering it and wiping out anything in or around it. I sensed Viro's energy signal vanish instantly just as the collective explosions subsided. I didn't see much other than smoke and dust afterwards, but considering his true form, I wouldn't have anyway. _Well, half of the problem is gone._

-

I dropped to one knee as Lenz rushed over with her congratulations, but I shook it off as Piccolo slowly stumbled over.

"Incredible, kid!" he said with pride.

"Piccolo, is there no way to use the dragonballs to wipe out this virus?" I asked straight away.

"I don't think it would be a problem for Shenron to grant a wish like that, but the problem lies in the fact that we can't wish everyone back once it has killed them off. The dragonballs aren't going to do a lot of good now because it's going to be another four to five days before they are recharged again! Everyone infected will likely be dead by then!" Piccolo pointed out.

"King Kai mentioned that we might be able to remove it with Porunga if we acted fast enough, but was concerned that the lingering virus in the air might be a problem. What about the third wish… " I started to ask before he promptly interrupted me.

"I'm sorry Verto, the battle took too long. Porunga can get very impatient and has likely retreated back into the balls by now and cannot be summoned again for several months." I punched the ground as I growled a bit, Viro had done his work well.

"Damnit, I was trying to draw him out of Gohan with my feedback wave so I wouldn't kill him. But in doing so, I've killed everyone! Even with a lot of Senzu beans, Dende and Kibito's help, there's only so much I can do to heal them. I'm not sure I can help them now that I'm tired," I said.

"That's what I figured, it seems that part of the population is beyond help now!" he said. Lenz looked quite alarmed at this as she helped me to my feet, but it was mostly due to my angry reaction.

"Come on, little bro, don't get down in the dumps! You did your best and that's all that matters!" she said, trying to comfort me, to no real avail.

"No, you don't get it. The only reason that this happened was because of me. I was abducted by the Zerg and taken off planet past that dimensional barrier into their dimension! You never would have met us if that hadn't have happened, and Frost wouldn't know about Earth being our home and Viro would never have come! It is all because of me!" I said in slight anger. Lenz remained silent to this, not really sure what to say. I sensed a large power level not far off, flying towards us quickly with a very low one in tow.

"Whoa, what is that?" Lenz screeched slightly, not used to all the high powers around her yet. I narrowed my eyes slightly until I recognized the power reading to be Fat Buu. He flew in quickly, dragging what looked to be Hercule along for the ride and alarming Lenz a bit since she had no real idea who or what the blob was.

"Mr. Satan get very sick and weak! Buu don't know what to do!" He said, very concerned.

"Set him down Buu, I can try to heal him but I'm gonna need some energy! You two bring the others over here and I'll see what I can do!" I ordered.

"Is that the pink monster Videl was telling me about?" Lenz asked nervously as she hid behind me.

"Hi, pretty lady!" Buu waved.

"Don't worry about him, he's been on our side for awhile now. Buu, heal me up so I can do this!" I said. Buu set Satan down and charged his forelock up with blue energy, focusing it on me instantly. My energy levels rose quickly as my body healed up, and I refocused into a positive mode while channeling pure Chi into Satan. I attempted to focus in on only the virus like I had done with myself, but found that my healing power seemed to take care of it automatically. Satan woke up a moment later, looking over himself and then around, trying to figure out what happened.

"Gohan? Was there a battle around here?" he asked, not realizing whom he was talking to.

"Wrong again, goofy, Gohan is over there!" I pointed out just as Piccolo was dropping his student over his shoulder and dragging him over. Satan just shook his head slightly as he continued through his cycle of confusion, but stayed quiet for the time being and helped Lenz pull the other Saiyans over for assistance.

-

With Buu's help, I was able to cure and heal everyone within about five minutes, including Krillin when 18 carried him in and Lenz when I noticed her stomach starting to empty itself a moment later. After giving them a brief rundown of what had happened, everyone fell into slight despair. Vegeta seemed convinced that we should use Buu and a bunch of Senzu beans and just start lining the humans up, treating as many as possible. This also meant though that several would have to be sacrificed just for the fact that I couldn't be everywhere at once, and it wasn't something Goku and I felt comfortable with. I suddenly had an idea come to my head when he finally convinced Goku and discussed it openly.

"Hey, what if I were to attempt to heal the whole planet at once?" I asked.

"What? That's impossible boy, even for you!" Vegeta pointed out.

"Hold on, I know how my power works, and I can channel the Spirit Bomb now. If I can pull up enough energy from both the earth and the sun, I think I can do it. I might have to resort to using the Kaio-ken technique again, but the extra power will certainly help, I can handle it now," I suggested.

"Even with the blob's help, I highly doubt you can pull that off. You're just going to have to deal with it boy, some of these humans aren't going to make it! Now let's get those Senzu beans and save who we can!" Vegeta barked out orders.

"It's basically the same fucking plan! I'm going to run out of Psi energy if I proceed too slowly and the Senzu beans are not going to restore very much of it!" I shouted back.

"What? How can you be sure?" Piccolo asked.

"Because it's my power and I mastered it. Spirit energy takes longer to recover than life energy!" I explained.

"Yeah, he's right about that one. I've had the same problem," Gohan added.

"So then, once the blob runs out of power, you won't be able to recharge again. Looks like most of the humans are out of luck then, we will save who we can and leave it at that!" Vegeta ordered.

"Fuck that, let me use the Spirit Bomb to supply the energy! With Buu, the Spirit Bomb and the Kaio-ken technique, there's no reason I can't pull it off!" I suggested.

"It's too dangerous Verto!" Goku interjected.

"He's right, kid. It's too risky, there isn't anything we can do for some of them! Let's just save who we can!" Bardock agreed as even Goku nodded slightly. I remained motionless as I glared back at Vegeta, a slight trail of salt water ran out from my eyes. I couldn't accept that for the people of Earth who were still alive and in need. It was bad enough that all of this happened because of me before, but I couldn't deal with the possible guilt of the aftermath if we had to sacrifice even a few.

"Come on, boy, what are you waiting for?" Vegeta growled, as I stood unmoving.

"It's my fault they are like this now. I won't be responsible for a millions of people dying because of our inability to act! Argh! Come on Buu, we're going to try!" I gritted my teeth audibly and then screamed as I quickly powered up to Super Mystic and blasted into the air, heading straight for outer space.

"Boy, what the hell are you doing?!" Vegeta roared after me, though I had no intention of listening. _This might actually be too risky to pull off, but I've got to try. No more half assed efforts and barely getting by on what we have. It's time to put these powers to good use._

_All alone I pierce the chain  
And all in all the sting remains  
And dieing eyes consume me now  
The voice inside screams out loud_

_I am focused on what I am after  
The key to the next open chapter  
_

I soared past the clouds and into the upper atmosphere quickly, passing the threshold of outer space within seconds. Buu came up right behind me, looking unsure of my intentions.

"King Kai, I hope you're paying attention," I said aloud.

"_Loud and clear,_" he replied.

"Have Videl speak to the people of earth all at once so I can channel the Spirit Bomb. I'm going to try something - something risky!" I said as simply as I could.

"_I understand. Good luck, kid!_" he acknowledged.

"Buu, charge me back up and keep it flowing. Once you get low on power, go back down to Earth, I'll do the rest," I said.

"Okay, Buu do!" he nodded and smiled, directing his healing wave towards me. I cleared my thoughts as I lifted one hand and aimed the other towards the planet.

"Okay, here goes. Earth, stars and heaven, please give me your energy!" I called out, hoping the mysterious force that guided the Spirit Bomb energy was listening again. I instantly felt energy coming towards me from the sun, a lot of it. Within moment I had a blue Chi ball the size of a car above my head. Slowly the energy from the earth filtered in, but there wasn't much of it since almost all of the Earthlings were close to dead and I had to start donating my own energy to even have something to start with.

"King Kai, repeat the message a few times, this might take awhile!" I said as I began channeling my healing energy towards Earth.

_Cause I found a way to steal the sun from the sky  
Long live that day that I decided to fly from the inside!_

--

Bulma laid in her bed, sick as ever while the baby wasn't in much better condition, but was sleeping through a fever irregardless. Bulma knew that there was nothing she could do now but wait and suffer through it. Her parents and employees weren't in much better shape as many of them had simply dropped where they were and went through their own torment while this virus had its way with their bodies. Her computer had shown multiple high power levels duking it out shortly before the virus seemed to kick on in everyone, and she knew that whoever was fighting Gohan out there was their best chance at survival. She was about to doze off when she heard a call to her mind.

"_People of Earth, this is Videl Satan. You must raise your hands if you want to save yourselves. Offer some of your energy and there's a slim chance we can still save the Earth and all of you from this horrible virus! _ _Please raise your hands up!_" Bulma knew what that meant, and despite her weak body, she managed to get to the nearest speaker and turn it on.

"Hey, you guys, do what the girl says! No matter how hard it is, you've got to do what she says!" she called out. The employees slowly stirred and did as requested, feeling their weakened energy leave them for a moment before a surge of green light passed through them and instantly made them feel much better.

"It's working, Goku!" Bulma said happily, but then staring in amazement when it focused on her for a moment. She recognized the feel of it instantly, "Verto?"

_Every day a new deception  
Pick your scene and take direction  
And all in all I search to connect  
But I don't wear a mask and I have no regrets_

_I am focused on what I am after  
The key to the next open chapter  
_

_Cause I found a way to steal the sun from the sky  
Long live that day that I decided to fly from the inside!_

All across the world, those who were both healthy and sick heard Videl's call and lifted their hands towards the sky, and slowly some of them started being touched by a strange warm green light that seemed to give them even more strength to supply. The energy from the skies surged through them and gave itself back to the mysterious force guiding it. At the turtle house, Master Roshi and Marron were just recovering when they heard the telepathic call. In the mountains, Tien and Chiaotzu were looking themselves over until they heard Videl's voice, and they too gave their energy. At a large baseball stadium, Yamcha slowly got up from where he had dropped near home plate. Most everyone there wanted to get the game going again, but once they heard the voice in the skies, he was able to convince them otherwise for the time being. Across towns where people had simply dropped in the middle of sidewalks and roads, they were slowly recovering and waking up, offering more to the cause. The strange green wave of energy made its way through countryside and cities alike, healing those good and bad, young and old. The people responded joyfully by donating more energy at the time before collapsing into a happier exhaustion, knowing that they would be safe again.

I can't escape the pain  
I can't control the rage  
Sometimes I think that I'm gonna go insane  
I'm not against what's right  
I'm not for what's wrong  
I'm just making my way and I'm gone

_Here's the weight of the world on my, shoulders!_

--

I focused hard on continually channeling both the spirit bomb and the healing technique, far from easily. I felt that I had been lucky, the Earthlings had donated even more energy once my surge of healing power passed over them, and so it was like a circuit loop almost. But expending so much energy was beginning to take its toll, even though most of it was not mine. Buu had long since run out of power, likely due to helping with the others, and he retreated back to the planet surface. I was almost done with the whole of the earth, but I found one last segment of land in the northern continent that I hadn't been over yet and felt my Super Mystic power slipping. _No, I must keep going...! I - must!_

"Kaio-ken!" I shouted suddenly, increasing the amount of strain on my body for the moment, and increasing the amount of energy I had. I poured it out and smothered the entire Northern continent in warm Chi energy, before my energy ran dry and I felt the gravity of earth pulling me back down. My breath became short and for a moment I couldn't breathe as I tumbled through the threshold of the upper atmosphere. _Damnit, I'm out of power. I've done all I can. I just hope it worked. _I smiled slightly when I sensed the Earth as a whole return to a normal level of energy a moment later, but there were spots of below normal activity scattered about. Before I could pinpoint them, I felt sleep calling me as my body quit responding just as a strong pair of arms appeared below.

"You did good, kid," a gruff voice said as I blacked out.

_I am focused on what I am after  
The key to the next open chapter!_

_Cause I found a way, to steal the sun from the sky  
Long live that day that I decided to fly, from the inside!_

_That I decided to fly from the inside!_

_- "Fly from the Inside" by Shinedown._

**Power levels:**

**Viro: 28,000,000**

**Verto's Shock Grenades: 450,000,000, or 30,000,000 each**

**Epilogue**

"You're sure you don't want me to come back with you and help you deal with the Zerg?" I asked as the other Saiyans were preparing to leave with the help of Mom's time machine the next day.

"Yeah, kid, we're sure. You have a new life to get on with here, we don't want to get in the way! Besides, you guys changed our lives enough as it is! It may not come to that, and we have a changeling or two to deal with first!" Bardock pointed out.

"All right, but I don't want to hear any crying afterwards, this is probably your only chance," I pointed out.

"Forget it kid, I don't want to have to deal with your whiny ass anymore! That's her problem now!" Fasha said, pointing towards Lenz and matching the grin that I gave her.

"Good luck with your battles ahead," Vegeta said as the others nodded.

"And with yours!" Tora replied. Mom pressed the button and the blue wall of energy emerged and surrounded them until they vanished.

"I'm glad that's all over with, it sure has been awhile since we've had a real peace on Earth! Now we can get on with our lives!" she said with a slight sigh.

"How, boring," Vegeta grumbled as he walked off, "Come on girl, it's time to test your skills!"

"Yes, sir!" Lenz called back, chasing after him quickly.

"Typical," Mom muttered.

"So how many died?" I asked with grim look on my face.

"What do you mean?"

"I know I missed a few, and I tried as hard as possible to cure everyone, but I didn't get them all before I ran out of power. So how many died?" I asked again.

"Well, I didn't want to tell you that just yet. It might be hard for you to swallow right now," she hesitated.

"How many?" I said with a slightly raised voice.

"We don't have a confirmed number, but approximately fifteen percent of the population died as a result of the virus. Keep in mind that a lot of them were already dead prior to you guys being wished back, so don't feel too badly. You can't save everyone sometimes," Mom said. I sighed slightly, _I guess I shouldn't be surprised, that was a reckless move on my part. I can't expect it to work exactly how I planned it. So be it, next time the villain is going down as fast as I can muster, no matter what. I'm tired of these war casualties. As much as I want to enjoy life, I just can't afford to anymore. _ Mom noticed my silence, and decided to continue.

"There is some good news though kid. Whatever you did to heal everyone also strengthened everyone's immune system. I even tested it again on fresh blood samples and the virus was wiped out by the natural defenses. Same thing happened with other minor infectious organisms I tested with. I'm not sure if that is a temporary thing or not, but it seems none of us will be getting sick for a while. I feel great in fact, haven't felt like this since my early twenties!" she exclaimed. I glanced her over when she said this, noting a slight increase in muscle tone and a more youthful look than the last time I had seen her. I really hadn't noticed it before, but that was only because of how tired I was.

"_Your powers may induce mutations in those weaker than yourself if used too many times or recklessly. Whether they are good or bad may depend on the situation_," I scowled slightly at the memory of what Old Kai had said. _Well, I'm sure she won't complain if this is the extent of it, but I know I've healed her twice now, never mind any contact she might have had with Gohan while I was gone. This must be a direct cause of that._

"You do look good today, and here I thought it was all the makeup," I grinned.

"Very funny, but thank you. Hell, I almost didn't recognize myself in the mirror today, can't wait for Vegeta's reaction!"

"So any other odd things going on since I saved the world?" I asked carefully.

"No, not that I know of, I'll let you know though. Got any plans or are you just gonna train all the time as usual?" Mom asked with her unnerving smile.

"In reality I should be training everyday, there is always more I can learn about myself. But for now, I think I could do with a nice long rest," I replied as I turned on my heel and headed for my new bedroom.

"Yeah, you need to relax so you don't turn into Mr. Uptight all the time like a certain husband of mine," she chuckled.

I stopped for a moment, "If only I could."

"Here kid, you might want this. It should help a little bit, at least until the party guests get here," she called back as handed me my old music player and a set of compatible headphones. _Here we go with another celebration party. Oh well. _I smiled and nodded, before going up to my room and settling down on my bed. For the first time in a very long time, I was not dreading the future that was coming my way.

**-- **

**A/Ns:**

**Daio: **Ah...another great saga added to the respected series known as Dragonball Verto. I don't know quite what to say, other than that it seemed more eventful and filled with action than other sagas. Might be just me, though. Anyway, for some of my loose thoughts formed from the second half of this last chapter of the sixth saga...perhaps, again, our hero Verto might have caused something inadvertently through saving the Earth's population through healing. Now, even though I'm the proofreader, I know next to nothing of what might happen, but it's fun to think about it - what mutations were possibly created because of him? Will they be good? Bad? Will there even be any mutations...? Speculation just kills, hey?

...Now, in closing...I hope you've had as much enjoyment reading Afterlife Adventures as I had proofreading it. Sit tight and keep an eye out for the next step in Verto's already tumultuous life.

**--**

**In the next Saga, Verto finds himself being tested in all phases of his life, starting with the emergence of a very weak villain that keeps coming back to life even after being destroyed! More trials come, including the arrival of the spy sent by the Elder Gods and her agenda. Don't forget that Frost is also still out there, who knows when he is going to cause more trouble! All of this and more in the next installment of Dragonball Verto: Series 7: Fragile Peace!**

**Oh and if you think I am talking about a certain short and blue demon that wished for eternal life, I'm not. **

**Check my FFN profile page for updates on when Saga 7 posting will begin, as I do not have an exact date in mind. I am looking towards sometime around August or September, but that is not for certain.**

**And this is the part where you click the review button.**


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